The Cleveland Cavaliers (12-10) travel to Capital One Arena Friday to take on the Washington Wizards (14-8). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Cavaliers vs. Wizards odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
The Wizards come into this home match with the Cavaliers having won three of their last four games.
Led by superstar G Bradley Beal, the Wizards have been good for bettors so far this season. They’re 12-10 against the spread (ATS) and have outperformed preseason expectations, currently sitting in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference.
The Cavaliers, led by C Jarrett Allen and G Darius Garland, are another team that has been better than expected. The Cavs are fifth in the Eastern Conference and are the best ATS team in the NBA with a 15-5-2 record.
They’ve been so good against the spread in part by being 7-4 straight up on the road. The Wizards are 8-2 at home, so this should be a good Friday night battle between two top teams in the East.
Cavaliers at Wizards odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports' betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:37 p.m. ET.
Money line: Cavaliers +125 (bet $100 to win $125) | Wizards -155 (bet $155 to win $100)Against the spread (ATS): Cavaliers +3.5 (-115) | Wizards -3.5 (-107)
Over/Under (O/U): 208.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
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Cavaliers at Wizards key injuries
Cavaliers
G Collin Sexton (knee) outG Cedi Osman (back) out
F Dean Wade (calf) doubtful
Wizards
F Rui Hachimura (reconditioning) outC Thomas Bryant (knee) out
F Deni Avdija (illness) questionable
Cavaliers at Wizards odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Cavaliers 105, Wizards 101
Money line
BET on the CAVALIERS (+125). The Cavaliers have the league’s sixth-best net rating and are better than their record indicates. Cleveland has won three straight games, and three of their last five, despite Sexton being out.
They’ve only lost to the Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets, both by five points, in their last five games.
The Wizards are actually worse than their record indicates. Despite being over .500, the Wizards have a -3.3 net rating which ranks 22nd in the league.
With Allen down low and being a dominant force this season for the Cavs, the Wizards will need an absurd scoring night from Beal to come out with a win. I don’t see that happening against a top-five defense.
Back the Cavs in this one.
Against the spread
“LEAN” to the CAVALIERS +3.5 (-115). Despite there being value here as well I prefer to go for the money line as the odds are just a better bang for your buck.
Over/Under
BET on the UNDER 208.5 (-115) as we’re seeing some reverse line movement. The majority of the money is being placed on the Over according to pregame.com, while the Under continues to dwindle.
Usually, when sportsbooks feel confident enough in their position to continue to want bettors to take one side and not look for the 50/50 split, it’s good to follow.
The Cavaliers also have a top-five defense and are missing their best scorer.
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