Cavaliers vs Lakers Odds and Picks
- The Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, October 29th
- The 2-and-3 Lakers are an 8.5-point home favorite over 3-and-2 Cleveland
- Find the odds, analysis, and best bet below
The Los Angeles Lakers begin a four-game home set on Friday, October 29th as they host the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers at the Staples Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:30 PM EST.
LA is coming off a disappointing loss to the OKC Thunder, blowing a 26-point lead in the second half. Cleveland on the other hand has won three straight, taking down three very good teams in the Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets, and LA Clippers.
The Lakers went 2-0 against the Cavs last season, outscoring them by 21 points.
Cavaliers vs Lakers Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Cavaliers | +8.5 (-110) | +300 | OFF |
| Los Angeles Lakers | -8.5 (-110) | -375 | OFF |
Odds as of October 28th at Fanduel.
Cleveland Looking Solid
It’s no secret the Cavaliers have a talented young core in the likes of Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, among others. Although it’s a small sample size so far, Cleveland is proving they could potentially be in the play-in mix this season. J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad just handled three legitimate contenders in a row, most recently beating the Clips by 13 points.
Sexton was the leading catalyst against Paul George and Co., dropping 26 points while shooting 60% from the field. His backcourt partner in Garland also scored 16, while rookie big man Evan Mobley chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds. What really impressed about this performance was the contributions from the entire rotation. Five different players had 10 or more points in the victory and that was with Allen having an extremely cold night.
It also wasn’t the most traditional win. The Cavs shot an atrocious 15% from three-point land but absolutely dominated LA inside, outrebounding them 57-36 and outscoring the Clippers 48-34 in the paint. Their defense was absolutely tremendous as well, limiting PG to only 12 points. Although Cleveland isn’t exactly draining threes at a high rate through five games (28.2%), their clear strength has been the frontcourt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA1LEnyTMR4
Allen and Mobley are a formidable duo who are versatile on both ends of the floor and bring tons of athleticism to the table. Mobley, who is averaging 13.8 points per night, profiles to be a serious building block for this franchise and he’s just tapping into his potential. As for Friday’s opponent, the Lakers have been vulnerable defensively at times. Cleveland is looking to complete the Staples Center sweep and it will take another all-around effort from the entire unit.
LeBron Back?
It was reported on Thursday by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that LeBron James is trending in the right direction to play on Friday after missing the last two contests with a sore ankle. But the Lakers’ injury report has officially listed The King as questionable. His presence has certainly been missed, with LA barely scratching out a win over the Spurs on Tuesday then collapsing on Wednesday against the Thunder.
One takeaway from the Lakers without Bron is this. Russell Westbrook evidently plays like the Russ we all know, scoring in bunches, dishing out dimes, and grabbing boards. He dropped 20 points, collected 14 rebounds, and posted 13 assists, but he committed an atrocious 10 turnovers. Westbrook now has 30 of them in just five appearances this season.
On Wednesday, LA seemed to be in cruise control. But in the second half, their defense was frankly non-existent, with OKC outscoring the Lakeshow 67-43. Turnovers certainly played their part, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. turning 17 of them into 27 points. Los Angeles shot the ball relatively well from the field, but struggled from downtown, draining just 31% of their attempts.
Other than AD’s 30 points and Westbrook’s triple-double, there wasn’t a lot of help offensively though. It simply came down to sloppy play against a young team who had no right beating the Lakers. Frank Vogel’s group needs to respond with a statement on Friday and figure out their identity without James in the mix. Playing on home court should help as well.
Cavaliers vs Lakers Prediction
LeBron or not, I do believe you’ll see the Lakers bounce back here. The Cavs are undoubtedly playing great basketball right now but LA will be extremely motivated to grab a win after falling to arguably the worst team in the Association. However, I do think it could be a much closer game than the 8.5 spread. Also, the under should come into play considering Cleveland has limited their last three opponents to 100 points or fewer.
Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers ATS +8.5 (-110)
Quinn Allen is a sports journalist, with a background and education in broadcast journalism (BCIT '17). He is a full-time associate editor at ClutchPoints by day, where he writes about soccer, baseball, basketball, football, and more. At night, Quinn is a frequent contributor at SBD.
