The Cleveland Cavaliers (29-20, 9-15 Away), the league’s top scoring defense, travel to face the Houston Rockets (11-37, 7-16 Home) on Thursday. Cleveland was narrowly defeated by the New York Knicks 105-103 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, their third loss in a row away from home.
With 24 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, Donovan Mitchell was a top performer in the losing effort. The Cavaliers are fifth in the Eastern Conference.
Houston is playing the second of a back-to-back after dropping their last game yesterday at Toyota Center, falling to the Washington Wizards 108-103.
Alperen Sengun had a triple double with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in the losing effort to lead the team. The Rockets are the 15th seed in the Western Conference.
The teams are meeting for the first time this season. Cleveland and Houston split their matchups last season, taking one game apiece. The Rockets won the last meeting 115-104 at Toyota Center in February 2022. Jalen Green led the Rockets with 21 points. Evan Mobley had 29 points and 12 rebounds in the losing effort.
Mitchell is averaging 28.3 points per game, ninth-highest in the league, to lead the Cavs in scoring this season. Meanwhile, Darius Garland is dishing 8.0 assists per game, fifth-most in the NBA, and Jarrett Allen is grabbing 9.7 rebounds per game. Green (22.0 ppg) and Kevin Porter Jr.
(19.2) have supplied much of the Rockets’ offense. Porter Jr. also has recorded 5.6 assists per game. Sengun has pulled down 9.0 rebounds per game. The Cavaliers rank as the stingiest scoring defense in the NBA with 107.2 points per game allowed.
The Cavaliers have not found much success at Toyota Center in recent seasons, losing eight of the last 10 visits. Meanwhile, the Rockets are 1-6 this season when playing on consecutive nights and 0-3 in such games against rested opponents.
The Cavaliers are 2-4 with a rest advantage. In the last 10 games, Cleveland is 4-6 with an average margin of +1.0 (111.3-110.3). Houston has a 1-9 record over the last 10, allowing 122.7 points per game on average while scoring only 111.4 (-11.3 margin).
CAVALIERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Dean Wade: 0.5 | 10.3 | -9.8
Points per game:
Evan Mobley: 20.8 | 15.0 | +5.8
Donovan Mitchell: 17.5 | 28.3 | -10.8
Rebounds per game:
Kevin Love: 4.0 | 6.8 | -2.8
Assists per game:
Darius Garland: 10.0 | 8.0 | +2.0
ROCKETS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Alperen Sengun: 43.0 | 28.0 | +15.0
Usman Garuba: 5.3 | 8.6 | -3.4
Points per game:
Alperen Sengun: 23.6 | 15.5 | +8.1
Rebounds per game:
Alperen Sengun: 12.2 | 9.0 | +3.2
Assists per game:
Alperen Sengun: 7.2 | 3.5 | +3.7
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Cleveland Cavs -9.5 (-105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
