Steve Starr
- Go to BetOnline or Bovada for the latest odds on the Nets vs Cavaliers matchup
- Donovan Mitchell is averaging a career-high 27.4 points in his first season in Cleveland
- The Eastern Conference clash tips off from Barclays Center at 7:30pm ET on Thursday, March 23rd
Cleveland (46-28) is closing in on its first playoff berth since the LeBron James’ era ended in 2018. They’re looking for a back-to-back road sweep of Brooklyn (39-33) after handing the Nets their fourth-consecutive loss on Tuesday.
Can Jacque Vaughn’s club rebound on Thursday and stay ahead of Miami for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference? Before we break down the matchup, check out our guide to betting on the 2023 NBA Finals and our tips for betting on the NBA.
Nets vs Cavaliers
 | Spread | Money Line | Total Points |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | -3.5 (-110) | -164 | Ov 218 (-110) |
| Brooklyn Nets | +3.5 (-110) | +138 | Un 218 (-110) |
Donovan Mitchell goes airborne
Donovan Mitchell posterized Yuta Watanabe with a vicious slum dunk in the fourth quarter of the Cavaliers 115-109 victory over Brooklyn. The star guard scored 31 points in Tuesday’s contest with five 3-pointers, continuing his incredible first season in Cleveland. He’s now averaging a career-high 27.4 points with a career-best .477 field goal percentage.
Mitchell’s backcourt partner Darius Garland is putting up 21.9 points per game with 7.8 assists while super sophomore Evan Mobley is averaging 16.2 points and 8.9 rebounds. Add it all together and the young Cavs are holding down the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
EVERY ANGLE of Donovan Mitchell's monster dunk tonight 🎬 pic.twitter.com/CPb9KMRp75
— NBA (@NBA) March 22, 2023
Nets in a funk
Mikal Bridges has played like a superstar since being acquired by the Nets in the Kevin Durant deal, averaging 25.4 points per game. However, the 26-year-old only mustered 18 points in Tuesday’s loss in Cleveland, going 0-for-8 from behind the 3-point line.
He’ll have to play much better in this one for Brooklyn to avoid dropping their fifth-straight game. The Nets are in danger of losing the sixth seed to the Miami Heat, which would mean a berth in the NBA Play-In Tournament. But, let’s face it… this team isn’t doing any damage in the postseason regardless of where they finish.
Brooklyn vs Cleveland
Cleveland is a 3.5-point road favorite on Thursday night despite playing under .500 basketball (17-20) on the road in 2022/23. While J. B. Bickerstaff’s club is the second-best team in the NBA at covering home games (63.9%), they’re only 16-19-2 (45.7%) against the spread on the road. However, the good news is their opponents are a mediocre 16-17-1 ATS in Barclays Center.
So, what happens when a poor road team goes up against a team that can’t defend their home court? Well, we shouldn’t expect a ton of points. Brooklyn home games have tilted heavily towards the UNDER (55.9%) this season while Cavs road contests skew slightly OVER at 51.9%.
Chris Paul sent Mikal Bridges a Nets football helmet after last week's incident where Torrey Craig got his tooth knocked out when he was defending Giannis in the Suns' loss to the Bucks 💀😭
Thoughts on this?
(via @mikal_bridges /IG) pic.twitter.com/veU4EzG6yT
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 21, 2023
Best Bet
While Brooklyn has dropped four games in a row, they’re not exactly falling apart at the seams. Their losses have come against quality opponents like the Cavaliers (46-28), Kings (43-29), Nuggets (48-24) and Thunder (36-36).
Look for the Nets to stop the bleeding on Thursday night and avoid being swept on home court by Cleveland.
See below the top sportsbooks where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
