New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers Preview Dec 28

New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Preview

WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers betting preview for Tuesday, December 28. At the time of posting, the Cavaliers have dropped to a 3-point road favorite in New Orleans, with the total sitting at 212 points.

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Tue, Dec 28	NBA Betting Notes
Point Spread:	Cleveland Cavaliers -3 at New Orleans Pelicans
Total:	212 Points
Game Time:	8:10pm ET / 5:10pm PT
Arena:	Smoothie King Center in New Orleans
TV:	Bally Sports New Orleans

New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers Analysis

The Pelicans are winners in four out of their last five, and they will host the Cleveland Cavaliers who continue to be the No. 1 team against the spread this season. New Orleans will be without Ingram tonight while the Cavaliers are starting to get guys back from off the COVID list as Okoro will probably be available tonight to join Garland, Rubio and Love.

Valanciunas should play after missing the last couple games with an illness, and the home team will be a three-point underdog with a total of 212 points.

The Cavaliers have won seven out of eight games and are coming off a 45 point win against the G-League team of Toronto and are now 24-6 ATS this season and 9-1 in their last 10. Garland has been fantastic this season, and Kevin Love looks rejuvenated as the Cavs have been incredible getting through this stretch of insanity with the rosters.

Tonight they will have Garland, Rubio, Love and Markkanen and they are waiting on the status of Okoro who is off the COVID list, but is waiting to pass conditioning before being officially in for tonight’s game. With their depleted roster I would expect him to play, and that would be a really nice weapon to have tonight, especially if Josh Hart plays for New Orleans. This could be a big Garland and Rubio game as New Orleans is the second worst defensive team against point guards, so expect Cleveland to attack with those two heavily all game.

New Orleans has won four out of five, but I think those might actually help us get good value in betting on Cleveland tonight. Their first win in this streak was against a bad OKC team, and the Pelicans only won by three when they had a full squad and SGA had 33 from the point guard position. Win No. 2 was an OT win against Milwaukee when the Bucks were with a skeleton roster including Middleton and Giannis being out. Win No. 3 was over a bad Portland team, but they gave up 39 points to Lillard, another point guard. Win No. 4 was against Orlando who are playing more G-Leaguers than NBA players these days, and again another big day for the point guard as Cole Anthony had 22 points.

Ingram played in all those games, and the only decent win was the 14 point win against Portland, and without Ingram tonight New Orleans is down their best player. Add to that Valencuinas is coming back from being sick so I don’t know what we’ll get from him, and Josh Hart is a game time decision with a sprained ankle, this is turning into a really nice spot for Cleveland. The lack of defense on point guards is going to be a big problem for New Orleans, and I think it’s all going to be too much for New Orleans to overcome. Cleveland is a confident play for me tonight.

OFFICIAL PLAY: Cavaliers -3

UPDATE (2:10pm ET): Update: Garland has just been put on the protocol list, and will be out now for Cleveland. This is a huge blow to Cleveland for covering the spread as the line has moved down to -3.5. My best advice now is to wait and see if Josh Hart is cleared to play. If Hart is out, I still will roll with Cleveland to cover. If Hart will play, I will stay away from this game altogether.

Interested in placing a bet on tonight’s New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers contest? BetMGM is offering a $1,000 Risk-Free Bet for first-time bettors in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Washington DC, Wyoming, Mississippi, Arizona and Louisiana.

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New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers Preview from GoldSheet

Cleveland is coming off administering a merciless beating of the Raptor impersonators on Sunday, taking a 144-99 decision for the Cavs’ 15th cover in the last 16 games. New Orleans had been on a bit of an uptick, winning 4 in a row SU prior to a 117-112 loss in Oklahoma City on Sunday.

Interestingly, Cleveland hasn’t beaten the Pelicans since the end of the 2017-18 season, losing the last 6 and 8 of 9 in the series. New Orleans HC Willie Green could be without PF Brandon Ingram (Achilles), G Josh Hart (ankle) and C Jonas Valanciunas (non-Covid illness). Not ideal situation for struggling Pelican side facing HC BJ Bickerstaff’s together group (he’s fresh off signing an extension to coach the Cavs).

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 Tuesday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers contest.

NBA Tip-Off Show

Join Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of guests for the NBA Tip-Off Show at 4:15pm ET / 1:15pm PT as we discuss tonight’s marquee games. Stay up-to-date on the latest NBA news, stats, analysis, and predictions with our panel of professional handicappers as they preview tonight’s NBA action, including this New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers clash, from a betting perspective.

WagerTalk Live Odds Screen

WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the NBA point spreads, moneylines, first half lines and betting percentages for all of Tuesday’s NBA games, including this New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers showdown, from your desktop or phone.

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