Cleveland Cavaliers vs LA Lakers Prediction: The Lakers in the groove but Cavs are feisty

The NBA is in full flow and this has been another brilliant season as we see a multitude of players stepping up their game. The Regular Season is full of peaks and valleys as injuries and fatigue both play a crucial role. There are teams that begin slow and then eventually get some consistency. One of those teams the LA Lakers are going to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs come into this game after a disappointing 81:92 loss against the Knicks despite a 23 points performance by Donovan Mitchell. This was the lowest-scoring game for the Cavs thus far this season. They have won 15 and lost nine games, having lost three of their last six games. They started the season with eight wins and one loss but have lost eight and won just seven since then mostly because of their struggles away from home. With the season still in its initial stages, the Cavs have plenty of time to recover the record and they have the roster to turn it around.

Donovan Mitchell has led the scoring effort and has scored 30 or more multiple times whereas Darius Garland has been both an amazing scorer and playmaker, averaging over 20 points and around 8 assists. Evan Mobley is a strong defender who has matured quickly and as Jarrett Allen is absent, he has had to pick up his rebounding while averaging a 15 points per game for the season. Apart from that, the scoring has been haphazard. Caris LeVert has been demoted to a bench role and is shooting below 38%. Love has been a dependable bench player but Cedi Osman continues to be iffy. Overall, the Cavs haven’t been playing at the level they established earlier but hold a lot of promise.

LA Lakers

The Lakers enter the fray after defeating the Wizards 130:119 as Anthony Davis had a historic 55 points and 17 rebounds night. The Lakers are on a three-game winning streak and they have won eight out of their ten games. This is a change from the earlier window when the Lakers began the season with just two wins and ten losses, currently they have an average but still a decent 10 wins and 12 losses record. While this has been a high-yielding window in terms of wins, most of them have been against teams that have a poor record or are struggling.

But that’s not a fair presentation of how the Lakers have played, one of the wins against the Bucks was especially impressive. Davis has played like an MVP and is now the rebounders per game leader with over 12 a game and has scored an incredible 44 and 55 points in the last two affairs. LeBron’s return has helped whereas Russell Westbrook has been effective off the bench as the leader of the second unit. Lonnie Walker IV has been in amazing touch too, averaging around 17 points and playing at a high level. Austin Reaves has been a terrific contributor off-the-bench whereas the return of Dennis Schroeder has bolstered the Guard position further.

Injuries

• Cavaliers: OUT: Dylan Windler, Dean Wade, Ricky Rubio. QUESTIONABLE: Jarrett Allen;
• Lakers: OUT: Cole Swider. PROBABLE: LeBron James, Anthony Davis. QUESTIONABLE: Wenyen Gabriel.

Player Props Predictions

• Expected Leading Scorers: Donovan Mitchell(27-33 Points), Anthony Davis(26-32 Points), LeBron James(25-31 Points), Darius Garland(20-25 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Anthony Davis(12-17 Rebounders), Evan Mobley(10-13 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: Darius Garland(8-11 Assists), Russell Westbrook(7-10 Assists).

Expert Betting Tips

This is not an easy one to call. Lately, Anthony Davis and the Lakers have done an incredible job of nabbing wins while the Cavs have done much better at home despite struggling away from home. The Cavs extract much of their offense through Donovan Mitchell these days who has continued to be one of the leading scorers. I believe the Cavs will win the game but will be decided in the final minutes. The scoreline Prediction is 114:110 in favor of the Cavs.