NBA: Cellar dwellers battle and can Nets capture Raptors?

Knicks +1.5 @ CAVALIERS (208.5), 7:05 pm
Pick: Cavaliers -1.5

The Cleveland Cavaliers are favored! That’s right Ohio’s NBA team is laying 1.5 tonight against the Knicks in the Zion Williamson sweepstakes game. While both teams may want to lose this game, somebody is going to win. Our guess is that it’s Cleveland as the Cavaliers have been hovering around point spreads for the better part of 2019. With this number giving a slight edge to the Cavs on their home floor, where they’ve covered three of their last four games, we’ll take the home side here.

Nets (+10) @ RAPTORS (226.5), 7:35 pm
Pick: Nets +10

Maybe there’s something to the idea that midseason trades can make chemistry complicated in the first couple weeks after the transaction. We didn’t think Toronto would have any issues covering a 12.5-point spread against the Knicks on Saturday. The Raptors were getting Marc Gasol on the floor for the first time and Kawhi Leonard was back in the lineup. Yet, the Knicks played right with the Raptors for the whole game and only lost by five. Gasol’s 19 minutes of action was probably enough to get him going with his new team but also throw off some rotations for the Raptors, who had been very successful without him. None of this is to say acquiring Gasol was a bad move for Toronto, but it is to imply that now isn’t the time to back the Raptors as a double-digit favorite. Brooklyn got Caris LeVert back on Friday night and he showed he can still score putting up 11 points in 15 minutes of action. The Nets are one of the best road teams against the number in the NBA covering in 16 out of 27 games away from the Barclays Center. We like them to make it 17 out of 28 tonight.