Cleveland Cavaliers vs Washington Wizards Prediction: Cleveland to pick up first home win

The Cavaliers have lost three of their last four face-offs with Washington. Cleveland has gotten stronger in the offseason and can improve their stats against the Wizards. Can the home team pick up its first home win of the regular season?

Donovan Mitchell has been a real godsend for the Cavaliers. Mitchell has been working hard on the conditioning in the offseason and now he's ready to take it to the next level. Donovan's stats in his two starts were impressive. He averaged 31.5 points and 8.5 assists per game. The former Utah player might have played less ball if not for Darius Garland's injury. The young Cleveland playmaker has an eye problem and should be back in action only for the game against Boston. Mitchell, therefore, became the Cavaliers' primary point guard as Garland's backup, Ricky Rubio, is also in the infirmary. The standout player among Cleveland's role players is Cedi Osman who picked himself up after a disappointing EuroBasket and started shooting well from beyond the arc. In all, seven of the team's players are averaging 10+ points: in addition to Mitchell, Osman, Mobley, Allen and Levert, Kevin Love and Robin Lopez are averaging the same amount of points.

After losing to Toronto by only 3 points in the opening game of the regular season, J.B. Bickerstaff's team rehabilitated and defeated Chicago on the road, 128-96. This time Mitchell was better from beyond the arc, hitting 4 of 6 three-pointers, and the team as a whole shot a phenomenal 59.3% from three point range for the game. Lava, Osman and Levert shot well from beyond the arc, although the latter also missed a lot from midrange. Mobley, Lopez and Allen dominated in the paint as the three of them shot on 15 of their 18 attempts from the paint.

The Wizards surprised almost everyone at the start of the season, winning 2 games and climbing to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Even with the addition of Monte Morris, Bradley Beal has become the Metropolitan club's primary playmaker, averaging 7 assists to his 21 points per game. Kyle Kuzma, with 24.5 points per game, is a big-time star right now, while Kristaps Porzingis still can't find himself. The Latvian big man shoots a lot from mid-range and beyond the arc, but he'll never reach his former level without his power under the basket. Deni Avdija and Rui Hachimura still can't live up to their promise, and it's not easy for them to compete for a spot in the rotation, especially with the arrival of Will Barton. Washington's injured reserve Corey Kispert, whose shots from beyond the arc could really come in handy. Vernon Carey Jr. is questionable.

Wes Unseld Jr.'s team defeated Chicago 102-100 at home in their last regular season game. Washington had an easier task than Cleveland against the same opponent, as Zach LaVine did not play against the Metropolitan club. Three-pointers by Porzingis, Kuzma and Avdija did a great job for the Wizards and the team also defended well in the paint and made better fastbreaks. Kuzma was the top scorer for Washington with 26 points. On defense should be noted for Delon Wright who had 3 steals, while Beal and Porzingis had 2 blocked shots each.

Even in the losing game against Toronto, Cleveland's play was enjoyable to watch. J.B. Bickerstaff's men are very intense defensively, and especially Donovan Mitchell, who promised in one interview to showcase his skills, is trying hard. Chicago tried to crush Washington with size last game, and just as Cleveland has no problem with big men. Allen, Mobley and Lopez dominated against the Bulls, and the Wizards have no antidote either. The visitors have a lot of undiscovered youth, and they won't be able to win consistently over the long haul. Our prediction for the Cleveland vs. Washington game is as follows:

• H1 (-3.5) for 1.90;
• TU (217.5) for 1.90;
• HT/FT W1/W1 for 2.06.

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