Vegas NBA Basketball Odds: New Jersey vs Cleveland
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Frank Martin
Two struggling franchises enter Sunday’s game feeling pretty good about their positions despite coming off losses Friday night. The New Jersey Nets have lost three straight, including Friday’s 105-98 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. But the Nets see reason for hope, beginning with Deron Williams’ improved shooting and rookie MarShon Brooks’ first 20-point performance.
By going on the road and pushing the Pacers to overtime on Friday, the Cleveland Cavaliers served notice to the rest of the league this isn’t the same sorry team that won only 19 games last season. They defend better, have a blossoming star in rookie Kyrie Irving and a bona fide shot blocker in rookie Tristan Thompson. “We’re a better team right now than we were last year,” Cavs coach Byron Scott said.
“We still feel we have a lot of room to grow. Like I said before, we feel we’re headed in the right direction.”
-
New Jersey Nets
@ Cleveland Cavaliers
When:
6:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 1, 2012
Where:
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
TV:
6 p.m. ET, YES, Fox Sports Ohio
The Cavaliers have opened as 3-point favorites on SBG Global Sportsbook’s Live NBA Basketball Odds.
New Jersey Nets (1-3): Brooks has steadily improved in each of his first four games, culminating with his 21-point, five-rebound performance Friday against his hometown Hawks. Brooks had a critical error at the end, when he tried calling a timeout after the Nets were out of them, costing them a chance at the upset. with Brook Lopez out, the Nets are hoping Brooks can continue to help Williams shoulder the scoring load.
Cleveland Cavaliers (1-2): Irving took nearly all of the Cavaliers’ shots at the end of regulation Friday night and had a chance to win it at the buzzer. A fantastic crossover left him with an open lane to the basket, but the shot rolled out. Irving missed 10 of his last 12 shots, but played a career-high 34 minutes. Scott thought he simply tired, but Scott loves how fearless his rookie point guard is in crunch time.
1.
Williams is shooting just 29 percent
this season (13 of 45).
2. Cavaliers backup point guard Ramon Sessions averaged 16.5 points,
4.8 rebounds and four assists against the Nets last season.
3. The Cavaliers have allowed
just 15 fast break points through three games, the lowest mark in the league.
NBA BASKETBALL PREDICTION: Cavaliers 93, Nets 85
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byron scott - cleveland cavaliers - deron williams - kyrie irving - marshon brooks - new jersey nets - quicken loans arena - ramon sessions - tristan thompson
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