Washington Wizards at Cleveland Cavaliers Pick

The Cleveland Cavaliers (10-41) will host the Washington Wizards (21-28) for an Eastern Conference clash set to take place at the Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday, January 29th, 2019. The contest is set for a 7:00 PM ET tip-off and due to be aired on FSN. The series between these two teams has been a competitive one as each party has won three of the last six contests between these two combatants. Most recently, the Cavs defeated the Wizards in “The Land” in December when they hosted Washington and defeated them 116-101 to pull an outright upset as a 7.5-point underdog.

Washington Wizards at Cleveland Cavaliers Overview

Washington Wizards

The Wizards come in off the heels of a loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday when they were polished by a score of 132-119. Washington failed to produce a cover as they closed as just a 3.5-point underdog.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers snapped a six-game losing streak on Sunday when they defeated divisional rival Chicago on the road in the Windy City to edge them out 104-101. The victory enabled the Cavaliers to pull an outright upset as a 4.5-point underdog and also afforded Cleveland its second consecutive cover.

Looking for more free predictions from our handicapping team? Get Free NBA Picks each day throughout the basketball season!

Reasons To Avoid Washington

The Wizards are owners of a ghastly road record that puts them at 6-19 SU outside of D.C. With consideration to the fact that the Home Team in this series has won the last three games, the Wizards are certainly not a magical choice here laying road points to the Cavaliers. When the fact that franchise Point Guard John Wall will be absent for this contest due to a season-ending injury is also considered, the Wizards are that much more of a dubious option here.

Reasons To Back Cleveland

Despite being the worst team in terms of wins and losses in the NBA, the Cavaliers actually offer several key advantages besides home court. The first edge that Cleveland owns is in defense. The Wizards are one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA giving up a 29th-ranked 115.9 points per game. Cleveland gives up 2.6 fewer points per contest by comparison (113.3 points per game). Another key area is rebounding as the Wizards sit 28th in both offensive and defensive rebounding which makes them an easy target for Cleveland to play keep away against as the Cavs are ninth in the league in rebounds against (43.9 boards per contest). When you also factor in turnovers and bench operations both also being an advantage to the Cavaliers, Cleveland is in position to pull another upset here.