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Cavs seek 9th straight win Thursday at Thunder
By: Freddy Wander - StatFox
Published: 12/11/2014  at  5:11:00 AM
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CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (13-7)

at OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (8-13)

Tip-off: Thursday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Oklahoma City -2.5, Total: 205

The most recent two MVPs of the league, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, collide in a star-studded matchup between the scorching hot Cavaliers and surging Thunder on Thursday night.

After a rough start to the season for Cleveland, the club has gotten things back on track with an eight-game winning streak (5-3 ATS). The Cavs have defeated their opponents by an average of 14.5 PPG over that time while making more than 45% of their shots. Most recently they earned a nice victory over the Raptors with a final score of 105-101 as 6-point favorites. Both teams shot very well in the contest, but it was Cleveland’s ability to win the turnover battle, 15-11, that propelled the team to the win. Oklahoma City had a very rocky start to the 2014-15 campaign without both Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, but is now at full strength and has won five of its past six contests (3-3 ATS). The Thunder offense came up big against a solid defensive team in the Bucks on Tuesday night as they shot 50% from the floor and won 114-101 and covered the 10-point spread. The road has not given the Cavs too much trouble thus far as they are 6-3 SU (4-5 ATS) in away games, but while the Thunder are a mediocre 5-5 SU at home, they have managed to go 8-2 ATS in those contests. Despite not having the star power that they now possess, Cleveland has been able to split its four games against Oklahoma City over the past two seasons while going 3-1 ATS. The Thunder were able to get the best of this team in their most recent matchup on March 20 though, defeating the Cavs 102-95 on the road as 9.5-point favorites despite shooting a mere 42.7% from the field. Before placing a bet, you should know that Cleveland is 65-56 ATS (54%) as an underdog over the past three seasons, while Oklahoma City is 22-7 ATS (76%) after failing to cover three of its previous four ATS in the same timeframe. The only injury to watch in this game is that of Cavs SF Mike Miller (concussion), who is listed as questionable.

Which superstar forward will lead his team to the win on Thursday night? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. While StatFox Forecaster has a stellar 62% ATS record (63-39) in featured games this season, the five experts have also caught fire with a collective 73% ATS mark (35-13) in NBA Best Bets since Nov. 29. StatFox Gary is 8-1 ATS during this timeframe to give him a 63% ATS record (20-12) in NBA Best Bets this season, while StatFox Brian is 9-1 ATS since Nov. 29 to improve to 59% ATS (19-13) in NBA Best Bets this season. Also during this surge, StatFox Scott and StatFox Dave are both 7-3 ATS.

The Cavs have put together a potent offensive ball club, as they are netting 103.5 PPG (7th in league) behind and efficient shooting effort (46.6% FG, 7th in NBA). Their defense has been up to the task as well while giving up 98.3 PPG (10th in league) despite allowing 46.1% FG (9th-worst in NBA). SF LeBron James (24.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.5 SPG) has seemingly found his groove with his new team after coming off a huge performance (35 points, four assists, two blocks, two steals) in the encouraging victory over the Raptors. He has always enjoyed his time (20 starts) playing against the Thunder, as he is averaging 29.4 PPG (52% FG), 6.8 APG, 6.3 RPG and 2.0 SPG in his career. PF Kevin Love (17.4 PPG, 10.0 RPG) is back to his old double-double self with five such performances in his past six games. He has also done well over 16 career games (10 starts) when facing Oklahoma City with 20.7 PPG and 12.2 RPG. PG Kyrie Irving (20.8 PPG, 5.1 APG, 1.6 SPG) is the wild card of the big three, and has hit a mere 14-of-38 shots (37% FG) over his past three games. He will look to bounce back against a Thunder squad which he has produced 23.8 PPG (50% FG), 7.3 APG and 2.3 SPG against over his four career games.

The poor start to the year will mask how good the offense of the Thunder actually is, as they currently rank third-worst in the NBA while scoring 93.5 PPG on 43.1% FG (6th-worst in league), but have been much better in the four games since Durant’s return with 104.3 PPG. Oklahoma City's defense has remained tremendous though, in allowing a mere 94.4 PPG (3rd in NBA) on 42.2% FG (2nd in league). SF Kevin Durant (22.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.0 APG) has played just four games this season so far while being on a 30-minute restriction, as he regains his playing speed. Durant is coming off his best all-around performance yet (23 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, one block, one steal) and hopes he can improve on that against a Cleveland club which he has averaged 26.0 PPG (50% FG), 6.9 RPG and 1.1 SPG against over 13 career starts. PG Russell Westbrook (24.3 PPG, 6.6 APG, 5.3 RPG, 1.7 SPG) has just seven games under his belt this year and has been incredibly consistent over the past five contests while putting up at least 20 points with seven assists and five rebounds. Over his 10 career games (9 starts) against the Cavs, Westbrook has been able to net 20.2 PPG (47% FG) to go along with 7.0 APG and 2.0 SPG. PF Serge Ibaka (15.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.2 BPG) has been a monster at defending the basket recently while getting 3.5 BPG over his past four contests, including hitting 16 of his past 26 shots (62% FG) in his past three games. He’s gone against Cleveland nine times (7 starts) in his career while posting 11.2 PPG (55% FG), 8.8 RPG and 3.7 BPG.


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