NBA Picks: Cleveland Cavaliers vs LA Lakers

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers lead off tonight’s TNT double-header when they battle in Cleveland starting at 8 p.m. ET followed by the Denver Nuggets hosting the Houston Rockets at 10:30 p.m.

Oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com have installed the Los Angeles Lakers a 2-point favorite ATS with a game total of 205 ½ .

The Nuggets are 7 ½ point line favorites in their game with the Rockets. The game has a total of 198.

Since the return to the line up of Lebron James following his finger injury, Cleveland has lost three of its last five games. Since James’ injury at Detroit on Nov. 20, the Cavs have dropped nine of nine of 11 games including an embarrassing 90-108 setback at New York against the struggling Knicks on Wednesday night. In that loss, the Cavs failed to cover the betting line for the seventh time of their last 10 games.

If you would like to check out a Cavliers home or away game, you can purchase Cavaliers tickets from Cavaliertickets.com. They are the leader in Cleveland Cavaliers basketball tickets.

Defense has been an issue for Cleveland, with the Cavs ranking 20th in the league in defense and 26th in field goal percentage against, having allowed 101.0 points per game. The Cavs will need to step up their defense against the Los Angeles Lakers, who rank third in the Association in scoring after winning six of their last seven contests.

Coming off a 103-91 SU win at Chicago , the Los Angeles Lakers performance is the polar opposite of the Cavs. LA has won seven of its last 10 games SU and against the spread (ATS). A win tonight will continue the Los Angeles Lakers current three-game winning streak and would mark its seventh in eight games.

The Los Angeles Lakers will continue to be without center Kwame Brown, who remains out of the lineup with a sprained knee and ankle. Kwame Brown will miss the entire four-game East coast road swing for Los Angeles, which knocked off Chicago 103-91 on Tuesday night to set the table for Thursday night’s clash with Cleveland. Andrew Bynum has emerged as a definitive presence on the inside in Kwame Brown’s absence, leading the Los Angeles Lakers in rebounding at 10.0 per game to go along with 11.1 points and 2.0 blocks in just over 26 minutes a night.

The Houston Rockets are struggling starting their four-game road trip tonight at Denver. They have lost two straight and four of the last five games, including Wednesday’s 92-97 home loss to the Orlando Magic.

Denver has dropped two in a row since a three-game winning streak and suffered a 105-116 loss at Portland to the Trail Blazers on Sunday.

The Rockets and Nuggets last played on Nov. 24 in Houston in a game that saw Houston come away the winner 109-81.

See more at www.point-spreads.com