Cleveland Cavaliers vs Los Angeles Lakers Predictions and Betting Odds 3/21/22
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Los Angeles Lakers Betting Preview and Predictions
NBA basketball analyst Eric Pauly offers his Cleveland Cavaliers vs Los Angeles Lakers preview for Monday, March 21. At the time of posting, The Cavaliers have opened as a 6-point home favorite over the Lakers, with the total sitting at 227 points.
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| Monday, March 21 | NBA Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Cleveland Cavaliers -6 vs Los Angeles Lakers |
| Total: | 227 Points |
| Game Time: | 7:10pm ET / 4:10pm PT |
| Arena: | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, OH |
| TV: | Spectrum SportsNet |
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Los Angeles Lakers Analysis
The Lakers have been far from must-see TV this season, but with LeBron traveling back to his home state, tonight may be a must-watch contest.
LeBron James is on a tear as of late – he is averaging 34.3 points over his last 10 games. Unfortunately for the Lakers, this scoring outburst from LeBron has not translated to wins.
The Cavaliers have won three of their last five games and have been a solid, consistent ball club all season long.
These two teams first met back in October and the Lakers won by 12 and have covered the spread as 8.5 point favorites. Fast forward to tonight and the Cavs are 5.5 point favorites at home and the total is set at 227.
Cavaliers Cooling Down
The Cavaliers have done a great job this season protecting their home court. Cleveland is 23-12 this season when playing at Rocket Mortgage Field House and is 13-9 as a home favorite this season.
After starting off the season scorching hot, the Cavs have cooled down since hosting the All-Star game. Cleveland is 5-5 in their last 10 games and has allowed opponents to average 113.0 points per game during this stretch.
Cleveland wins their games based on their defensive efforts, so seeing a relatively amount of points let up per game has been detrimental to the Cavs.
Lakers Limping to Finish Line
There’s not much to say about the Lakers that isn’t mentioned all over major media outlets as well as social media.
They are an old, bad team that does not play hard, does not play together, and, again, is flat-out bad. The Lakers are tied for 10th in the Western Conference and are at risk of falling to the 11 seed and missing out on the play-in tournament.
Over their last 10 games, LeBron has averaged 34.3 points, but the Lakers have suffered. Los Angeles is 3-7 in their last 10 games and has allowed opponents to average 124.1 points over the last 10.
The Lakers are 10-24 on the road this season and are just 9-11 against the spread as a road dog. It is expected that LeBron James has an amazing showing in front of the Cleveland fans, but he is banged up with a knee injury.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction
Betting on the Lakers has not been profitable this season and this team is running out of time. With that being said, it’s now or never for the Lakers to step up, and given it’s LeBron’s one game in Clevland this season, I expect King James to will his team to a victory.
I like the Lakers on the moneyline. The Cavs are certainly better, the Lakers have no momentum, but LeBron is still LeBron.
If the Lakers don’t pull off this upset win, I am seriously concerned that this team will not even make the play-in tournament. Give me the King in his former castle.
Prediction: Los Angeles Lakers Moneyline
NBA Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his NBA Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Monday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Cleveland Cavaliers vs Los Angeles Lakers contest.
NBA Tip-Off Show
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Meet the Author
Eric Pauly, @slimeaction on Twitter, graduated from Binghamton University with a degree in Finance. Eric is a die-hard Washington Commanders and New York Knicks fan and enjoys watching and writing about the NFL, NBA and MLB. His favorite gambling movements include hitting a +1000 future on Washington to win the NFC East in 2020 and predicting Jonathan Taylor’s breakout season with a +900 ticket for him to win the 2021 NFL rushing title. Aside from the sports betting industry, Eric also enjoys good eats, dynasty fantasy football leagues, daily fantasy sports and playing the guitar.
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