LeBron May Be Visiting Future Home as Cavs visit New York
LeBron James makes a trip to his potential future home on Tuesday night, when he and his Cleveland Cavaliers visit New York to face the Knicks in an Eastern Conference NBA betting match-up. Online bookies have made the visiting Cavs 6.5-point sports betting line favorites, and have also set the betting line ‘total’ at 213.
Cleveland enters this basketball betting affair an impressive 10-3 overall, 7-4 ATS. The Knicks have exceeded expectations thus far, and sit 7-6 SU, but have cost pro basketball bettors by churning out a 6-7 mark ATS.
There’s been rampant speculation over the past couple years that when James becomes a free agent in the summer of 2010, that New York would do whatever it takes to get him in a Knicks uniform. That speculation hit an all-time high this past weekend when New York made two blockbuster deals, moving the high-priced Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph in exchange for Al Harrington, Cuttino Mobley, and Tim Thomas. The moves cleared a combined $27.4 million in cap space for the summer of ’10, making intentions to court James and other free agent studs all the more a reality.
Harrington, Mobley, and Thomas are all expected to be in uniform for New York for this game, which will immediately provide depth for a team that dressed just seven players in its last game; a 122-117 home win and cover against Washington.
Quentin Richardson picked up the slack for the short-handed Knicks, going off for 34 points and 12 rebounds to carry the team to victory. “Q” hit seven 3-pointers, and Nate Robinson added a career-high 27 points. NBA handicappers will have an eye on this game not only to see if their online gambling tickets cash, but to also note how head coach Mike D’Antoni incorporates his new players.
Cleveland bounced back its last time out handling the Atlanta Hawks at home, 110-96 after having its eight-game winning streak snapped by Detroit. James stuffed the stat sheet yet again, finishing up with 24 points, eight assists, and seven boards to help the Cavs remain undefeated at home this season (7-0). James’ improved supporting cast also played large roles with Mo Williams pouring in 23 points, Delonte West adding 19, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas contributing 17.
‘Over’ bettors have to like the NBA betting trends in this spot; it’s 4-0 ATS in the past four meetings between these clubs, 7-2 ATS in the Cavs’ past nine games, and 5-1 ATS in the Knicks’ last six games.
Surprisingly though, Cleveland is just 3-8 ATS in its past 11 meetings versus New York, and the underdog’s been betting gold in this series with it barking in nine of these teams L/12 confrontations.
Will James go off in Madison Square Garden, especially after what went down this past weekend? And how quickly will New York’s newest additions adapt to D’Antoni’s style of play?
