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NBA Play-In Preview: Brooklyn Nets vs Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Picks, Odds, & Predictions April 12th

TeamOdds
Brooklyn Nets Moneyline-334
Cleveland Cavaliers Moneyline+320
Brooklyn Nets Spread-8.5
Cleveland Cavaliers Spread+8.5
Nets/Cavaliers Total229
Game Date & TimeTue Apr 12th, 7PM ET
Odds via OddsJam Perfect Line

In the first of the play-in games, we have the Brooklyn Nets hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers. This game is being played at the Barclays Center on Tuesday, April 12th at 7PM ET.

The Cavs have been the joke of the league pretty much any season LeBron James wasn’t on the team, but finally have something promising going. The Nets, meanwhile, are riddled with elite talent but struggled with injuries and players out of the lineup for most of the season.

Now that they are pretty much at full form, it is no surprise that the Nets are favored in this game. The point spread is currently Nets -8.5, with the total sitting at 229.

The Nets came into this season as the heavy, heavy favorites to win the NBA championship. Of course, having 3 of the arguably best 7 players in the NBA in Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving doesn’t make that too surprising. Candidly, I thought the Nets were going to run away with the NBA this season.

Reality did not turn out that way, though. Kyrie Irving only played in 29 games this season because he refused to get vaccinated and did not comply with New York City’s vaccination policies. Kevin Durant only appeared in 55 games due to a knee injury.

And lastly, James Harden, in what might be the biggest surprise of all, sulked his way off the Nets and was traded to the Sixers for Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond, and Seth Curry.

Ben Simmons, by the way, still hasn’t appeared in a game for the Nets due to a back injury. He hasn’t been ruled out for the entire playoffs as of yet, but it would be a surprise if he played at all the rest of the way. The Nets also lost important starter Joe Harris to an ankle injury.

Overall, it has been the season from hell from Brooklyn, but even as the 7 seed they still have the 3rd best chance to win the championship according to futures odds. Caesars Sportsbook currently has the Nets championship odds at +700, with only the Suns and the Bucks with better odds.

Even though the Nets have to play in the play-in game to officially make the playoffs, the betting markets still view them favorably.

On the other side of the ball, Cavaliers fans probably have mixed feelings about being the 8 seed and in the play-in game.

Of course, if you go off of pre-season expectations Cavs fans have to be thrilled. But, with that said, the Cavs were so good this season and only fell off recently due to injuries that it’s hard not to be disappointed to have dropped all the way to 8th.

The Cavs were a top 4 seed for the majority of the season, but a broken finger for Jarrett Allen and a sprained ankle for Evan Mobley caused both to miss time, and the Cavs struggled as a result. They limped to the finish line, finishing 3-7 in their last 10, and 8-13 in their last 21.

A fully healthy Cavs team is still a force to be reckoned with, though. They are led by a trio of the two aforementioned big men Allen and Mobley, and rising superstar Darius Garland. They also have key pieces in veteran Kevin Love, sharp-shooting big man Lauri Markkanen, and young Isaac Okoro.

The young and plucky Cavaliers team do have a bright future ahead of them, especially so with Garland and Mobley. Unfortunately for them, though, is that the Nets season was so rocky they dropped all the way to 7. If the Bulls instead had dropped to the 7 seed, then I would have loved the Cavs to win this one.

So, I don’t think the Cavs have enough to top the Nets here. Durant and Kyrie are going to be too much, and I think the Nets pull away from this one. I like the Nets to win and cover the spread here.

The OddsJam Line prices this spread at Nets -8.5, but using OddsJam I was able to find a Positive Expected Value play on the Nets -7.5 on BetMGM. Every other book has this at -8 or -8.5, so we have generated positive closing line value here as well.

I also found a Positive EV play on the under, so I decided to take that as well, just with less confidence.

Similar logic to getting the Nets -7.5, but on WynnBET I found a Positive EV play. Most books, including the OddsJam Line, price this total at 229 or 229.5, so getting it at 230 is a valuable bet.

Brooklyn Nets vs Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Pick:

My official betting pick for this Nets vs Cavs game is to take the Nets spread -7.5. I bet this at -110 odds on BetMGM Sportsbook.

I also like the under in this game. I got the under 230 at -108 odds on WynnBET Sportsbook.

Brooklyn Nets vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction:

My prediction is that the Nets win this game 112-100.

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