Basketball bet odds have the Los Angeles Lakers as an underdog for one of the rare times this season as they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday in a marquee matchup. The Cavaliers have the best record in the Eastern Conference while the Lakers have the best record in the Western Conference. This should be an excellent basketball betting matchup and it can be seen on TNT television. Basketball bet has seen the Lakers playing at lot at home this season. That is about to change as this will be the first of a very long eight-game road trip for Los Angeles. The Lakers are only 5-10 against the basketball bet odds on the road this season.
The Cavaliers won the earlier meeting between the teams this season after losing both games against Los Angeles a year ago. This is the 97th all-time meeting between the two teams with the Lakers holding a 57-39 series advantage. In their last 10 overall meetings, the Lakers are 3-7 against the Cavaliers. In Cleveland, the Lakers have gone 5-5 in their last 10 games.
In 25 games against the Cavaliers (22 starts), Kobe Bryant is averaging 22.5 points per game but in his last nine against Cleveland he has pushed it up to 29.2 points per game . In 13 career basketball bet games against the Lakers, LeBron James is averaging 27.2 points per game.
The Cavaliers won 102-87 vs. the basketball bet line against the Lakers on Christmas Day in Los Angeles. The Lakers won at Cleveland 101-91 last season in basketball betting but they had lost the previous four. Usually when these two teams meet the games are close but that has not been the case in the last three basketball bet games with the average margin of victory being over 10 points per game. The basketball betting trend to watch in this game is the total as the last five games have gone under and seven of the last eight.
This is one of those games in basketball betting that has great appeal. It matches up the two best teams in the league with the two best players. LeBron and Kobe are usually fighting for the scoring lead and both teams have very good overall statistics although both have struggled against the basketball bet pointspread. When you have a reputation it can be tough to cover the spread but in this game that is not a factor since both teams are highly respected.