The Cavs (+4) Are 8-2 In Their Last Ten Games

The Celtics won by 53 points last night, and Tatum and Brown combined for 66 points ☘️ — let’s talk Bucks vs. Cavs 👇

Bucks @ Cavs Preview

Despite being the fourth and fifth seeds in the East, the Bucks and Cavs are just a game and a game-and-a-half away from the conference’s top seed. While that’s expected from Milwaukee, Cleveland has definitely shocked the league with their play. A win tonight could help either team gain some ground towards earning the coveted home court advantage in the postseason

Here’s how Vegas expects things to go down, but it’s worth noting Giannis is questionable, so these lines will likely change as tip-off approaches 👇

Bucks @ Cavs Betting Preview

• Spread: Bucks -4

• Moneyline: Bucks -174 (bet $174, win $100), Cavs +146 (bet $100, win $146)

• Over/Under: 217

Coming into the season, the Bucks had beaten the Cavs seven times in a row, and extended that to eight after their win on December 6. Since then, however, the Cavs manhandled the Bucks, who were without any of their Big 3, by 29 points to snap their losing streak ☀️

The Up-And-Coming Cavs

Although they’ve only played 48 of their 82-game season, the Cavs already have seven more wins than they did all of last year 📈

The trio of Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley has been a revelation, and a core group that could cause trouble in the East for years to come given their youth 🍼

• Jarrett Allen, 23 years old

• Darius Garland, 21 years old

• Evan Mobley, 20 years old

Allen’s making a case to be named to his first All-Star team after earning a $100M extension from the Cavs following his departure from Brooklyn as part of the Harden trade

• 16.3 points per game (career-high)

• 11.0 rebounds per game (career-high)

• 1.4 blocks per game (2nd-best in his career)

Garland has exploded onto the scene as one of the best lead-guards in the game, and is also making an All-Star push — a game that Cleveland will host next month 👀

• Garland is seventh in assist points created per game (21.3)

• The only younger players in the top 20 are LaMelo Ball (10th) and Tyrese Haliburton (14th)

• He just tied LeBron (2017-18) for the longest streak of games (5) for the Cavs with 10+ assists in the past decade

Lastly, Mobley is running away with the Rookie of the Year Award (-150), as no other NBA newbie has provided a bigger two-way impact to his team. Here’s where he ranks among rookies in a bunch of major categories

• Win Shares (1st)

• Blocks (1st)

• Rebounds (1st)

• Points (2nd)

• Assists (5th)

Even after losing Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio to season-ending knee injuries, the young Cavs have won eight of their last 10 games and are hungry to make an impact in the spring 🤤

The Bucks Are Back, Baby

However, the Bucks aren’t getting the respect they deserve. They’re the defending champs, but have only the third-best odds (+700) to win again this year. At 30-19, they’ve been pretty good, but their 19-3 record with the Big 3 suggests that they’re even better at full-strength 🌶

In addition, Giannis’ mid-season push has him right back in the heart of the MVP chase 👇

2021-22 NBA MVP Odds

• Steph Curry: +170 (bet $100, win $170)

• Giannis Antetokounmpo: +325

• Nikola Jokic: +550

If the Bucks run away with the East’s top seed on the basis of better health through the rest of the season, Giannis could be staring at the Maurice Podoloff trophy for the third time in his career 🏆

Trivia question: Who was the first player in NBA history to win back-to-back MVPs? (answer below)

Giannis’ all-time efficiency only amps up in crunch-time too. He’s 34th in minutes played, but near the top in every major statistical category

• 2nd in total points

• 3rd in rebounds

• 10th in blocks

• 18th in assists

However, the Greek Freak is listed as day-to-day with soreness in his right knee after sitting out the second-half of a back-to-back against the Bulls and Kings (both wins). Still, the Cavs present a much tougher task than Sacramento, so the Bucks might need Giannis to grab a win

For My Parlay Gurus

Given the uncertainty of Giannis, I’m taking the Cavs vs. the spread in today’s parlay. I’m adding in the Heat to cover at home against the Knicks as well 👇

• Cavs +4 vs. Bucks: -110

• Heat -6.5 vs. the Knicks: -110

$100 on this bet would win you $264 — if we hit, make sure to email [email protected] for $100*. First come, first serve 😉

Trivia answer: After the introduction of the award in 1955-56, Bill Russell won for the first time in 1957-58 before winning the award three times in a row between the 1960-61 and 1962-63. He won for a fifth and final time in 1964-65, giving him the second-most MVPs in the history of the league, tied with Jordan and trailing Kareem by one