The Cleveland Cavaliers (31-22) hope to continue their home success Thursday against an out-of-form Memphis Grizzlies (32-19) team that managed to beat them just before going on a horrible slump.
Bookmaker BetOnline has the Cavs as favorites for the contest and has set the total for the home team at 115 points with the odds for both the over and the under at -115. The total stands at 109 points for Memphis with the odds at -110.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: February 2nd, 8:30 A.M. (EST)
The Grizzlies matched a franchise record with an 11th consecutive win against Cleveland when Steven Adams hit a 115-114 game-winner on Jan. 18, but a 1-6 run has followed and the team simply hasn’t been able to regain its rhythm. Adams’s knee injury is one of the reasons why, but the cold streak started with him still in the lineup and head coach Taylor Jenkins continues to have plenty to ponder.
On Wednesday against Portland, Memphis also lost its first home game in nine outings and this should be the final wake-up call for the team. Things have to improve quickly or Jenkins’ men could start dropping like a rock in the standings.
Ja Morant desperately needs some help. The Grizzlies superstar has played out of his skin lately and posted a fourth consecutive double-double Wednesday night. The run also includes two triples-doubles as Morant has averaged 28.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 12.5 assists across the four games.
The Cavaliers also can’t be happy with how things have gone recently as they continue to flip between wins and losses. But they have a very strong home record and should be confident of a good result Thursday.
Visiting teams have won only six of 27 games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this season. With a few extra wins on the road, Cleveland could easily be in contention to finish with the best regular season record in the league, which shows how far the team has come after having a few very miserable campaigns.
The stage is perfect for a fascinating backcourt battle as Morant will try to outplay Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell with his buddy Desmond Bane.
Following his trade from Utah, Mitchell has become the head honcho for the Cavaliers, but Garland continues to constantly improve and has been having a fine campaign again. He’s tallied five double-doubles in his last nine games and is averaging a career-high 21.8 points per game for the season with 8.1 assists.
