The Cleveland Cavaliers invade Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks on Saturday afternoon.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been in a major slump as they’ve lost five of their last six games and they will be hoping to snap a two-game skid after getting thrashed by the Hawks in a 131-107 road loss on Thursday. Cedi Osman led the team with 21 points, six rebounds and four assists, Darius Garland added 18 points with eight assists while Moses Brown chipped in with 15 points and 13 rebounds. As a team, the Cavaliers shot just 43 percent from the field and seven of 30 from the 3-point line, but their problems were on the defensive end as they allowed the Hawks to explode for 36 points in the first quarter to put them behind early and things only got worse in the second half where they trailed by as many as 33 points at one stage.
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks have been in pretty good form lately as they’ve won six of their last nine games, but they will be eager to bounce back after having their four-game win streak halted by the Hornets in a 125-114 loss on Wednesday. Evan Fournier led the team with 30 points on 10 of 16 shooting, RJ Barrett added 25 points, Julius Randle scored 21 points with seven assists while Immanuel Quickley scored 16 points off the bench. As a team, the Knicks shot 47 percent from the field and 16 of 44 from the 3-point line as they did their best to hang with the Hornets for most of the game, until the Hornets pulled away late behind Miles Bridges who scored 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter.
Looking at the betting trends, the Cavaliers are 0-4 ATS in their last four road games, 1-7 ATS in their last eight games against a team with a losing record and 5-15-1 ATS in their last 21 games overall. The Knicks are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games against a team with a winning record, 2-9 ATS in their last 11 home games and 6-0 ATS in their last six games overall.
Head to head, the Cavaliers are 2-6 ATS in the last eight meetings overall and the Cavaliers are 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings in New York.
The Cavaliers will again be missing Rajon Rondo, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, while the Knicks are without Nerlens Noel, Derrick Rose and Quentin Grimes. The Cavaliers have really dropped down the standings during their slump, so they need a win here to keep them in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, while the Knicks have little to play for in this one. The Knicks are coming into this meeting as the team in better form, but the Cavaliers need this one and I think they can snap out of their funk and get the win and cover in this spot.
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
Mitch's Take...
