NBA Tuesday Night Preview and Best Bets: Cavs vs Pacers & More

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00:00Time to go around the association on this Tuesday night in the NBA, a seven-game slate

00:06that we will preview for you live right here on the Early Line.

00:10Let's start in the Central Division.

00:12Out in the Midwest to Indianapolis we go.

00:15It's the Indiana Pacers, hottest team in the Eastern Conference, winners of six in a row

00:21against the best team in the NBA.

00:23That's the Cleveland Cavaliers, 33-5 is the mark for the Cavs.

00:29And Joe, I do think it bears repeating, 33-5 Cleveland, 22-18 overall for Indiana.

00:37Nearly 40 games for the Cavs, exactly 40 for the Pacers tonight is the midway point of

00:43the year in Indy for this Pacers organization, 41 games, that's halfway through 82.

00:51Maybe as football season nears a close, you are starting to pay more attention to what

00:55is happening in the world of basketball within the association.

00:58Welcome.

00:59We've got a good one for you tonight.

01:01So as the spread looks right now, eight-point spread in favor of the Cavs, total 232 and

01:08a half.

01:09Joe, can Indiana stay in this game and maybe even win its seventh in a row against the

01:13best in the association?

01:15Yeah, probably not, Ben.

01:18A, they just beat the Cavs at home, so kudos to them getting it done.

01:26But it also does look like Halliburton is probably doubtful for tonight's game because

01:31of a hamstring injury, or at least that's what they're saying.

01:36So if I'm the Pacers and I got a back-to-back against the best team in the NBA and certainly

01:41at Eastern Conference, and I've already won that first game on their court, I'm probably

01:46no need to sell out here to try to win a second one.

01:50And it does look like Halliburton, Naismith still out.

01:54No, Halliburton, there can't be any Pacer bet for me.

01:57The reason they've turned it around is because he's actually figured out how to shoot again,

02:03and they look a lot closer to that Pacers team from a year ago than anything we saw

02:08early on in the season here.

02:10Huge 15-point win for the Pacers on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland, outright as nearly

02:16a nine-and-a-half-point underdog to make it six wins in a row for Indiana and stop what

02:23the Cavs had rolling, a very long win streak for Cleveland as well.

02:27You're going to find many long win streaks for the Cavs when they have won 33 of 38 available

02:33games this season.

02:34They have also been booked as a favorite 35 times in 38 games.

02:40They are 23-12 against the number.

02:43They are 26-12 ATS, that being the Cavaliers this year.

02:48Both the best outright record, Joe, at 33-5, and cover percentage at 26-12 against the

02:55number this year for the Cavaliers.

02:58The best team out in the Western Conference, that's the Oklahoma City Thunder.

03:02Huge matchup between the Cavs and OKC, of course, exactly a week ago that went the way

03:08of the Cavaliers, but OKC still remains that best team out West with the second-best record

03:14in the NBA.

03:1532-6 straight up.

03:19OKC tonight, double-digit favorite on the road in Philly against the 76ers.

03:24Joellen Bede has been ruled out, Joe.

03:26It's why you see an 11-point spread in favor of Oklahoma City.

03:30Yeah, and this will wrap up, I believe, a four-game road trip here for OKC in this one.

03:39And yeah, you know, they've talked a lot.

03:41I'm seeing a lot of quotes out of OKC, Ben, about complacency and making sure that they

03:47take nobody for granted here.

03:52And you know, they're not being reckless about it.

03:54But when you're 32-6, yeah, you know, you don't want all of a sudden to be losers of

04:00four of the last five, and things can spiral out of control, and they know it.

04:05So yeah, they're an 11-and-a-half-point favorite, and I think that number is probably light.

04:11Joellen Bede, Caleb Martin is still questionable.

04:15It's very hard.

04:16I mean, Maxey is going to get his.

04:18Congratulations, but I don't think you're going to be able to compare to what OKC can

04:22put up here.

04:23Yeah, and Joe, it's been a season already for Philadelphia, defined by injury.

04:28Will Joellen Bede ever play again?

04:31I'm saying that facetiously, Jared McCain now ruled out for the remainder of this season

04:35after a sensational start to his rookie campaign in the NBA.

04:40Listen, it's where things are right now for Philadelphia.

04:44OKC has a 32-6 regular season record, but technically has played 39 total games, a loss

04:51in the NBA Cup.

04:52So they've been booked as a favorite 37 of 39 games, only a dog twice, season opener

04:59on the road in Denver, won that game outright, short underdog last week against Cleveland,

05:04lost that game and did not cover.

05:06As a favorite, 24-11-2 against the spread, second best cover percentage booked as the

05:14favorite side this year.

05:16That's darn good.

05:17More on the hardwood next.

05:19We continue the hardwood handicaps here on this Tuesday morning on the early line on

05:24SportsCrit.

05:25A couple more thoughts around the association and then into another marquee night in the

05:31SEC.

05:32But basically, each and every conference night of action is in the Southeastern Conference.

05:38We go back to the NBA, seven-game slate on this Tuesday.

05:43We head now to Dallas, the Mavericks a home underdog, catching 3.5 points against the

05:48Denver Nuggets.

05:49Total stands at 233.

05:52I believe a question of availability will be how this game is played out.

05:58Nikola Jokic has a points prop.

06:01He is out there for Denver.

06:03Still no Luka Doncic for the Mavs, but Kyrie Irving set to be in the lineup tonight, 23

06:09and a hook the number on Kyrie.

06:11Joe, how do you see this game playing out tonight between the Mavs and the Nuggets?

06:15Well, I mean, let's face it.

06:18Denver is, what, seven of the last nine, I think they've won.

06:23This is the second game against Dallas.

06:27And they had no problem handling business last time out.

06:31Again, it's all a matter of the injuries with Dallas.

06:33They've lost six of their last eight and no Doncic, but they haven't had Kyrie.

06:39It's been rough sledding.

06:42It really, really has here.

06:43The idea that they're getting Kyrie back here tonight, I think is great.

06:47But let's not forget Denver missing a pretty big piece for them as well as Aaron Gordon

06:55had been out forever.

06:57And that's a different team without him on the court.

06:59And it does appear, Ben, that he'll be back again.

07:04He missed nine games there, but he was in that game on Sunday, had 13 points, six and

07:10six boards.

07:11I think he's a big part of Denver.

07:13I think Kyrie's not going to be enough for me to sway it to try to take Dallas to get

07:18even here.

07:19I think Denver, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

07:22I ain't getting in front of that train right now.

07:24Honestly, a line that I expected to be a little bit higher than it is.

07:29And only three and a hook in favor of the nugs right now.

07:32To your point, without Luka Doncic, Dallas has lost six of their last eight.

07:38Luka injured, of course, early in the game on Christmas Day.

07:41The Mavs won their first.

07:42Now they have dropped six of their last eight.

07:45First game for Kyrie Irving since New Year's Day, January 1st.

07:49So nearly missing a week and a half or so.

07:52And Joe, for the Mavericks in these six losses, they have not covered once in any of the six

07:58L's.

07:59They have been an underdog five times.

08:01Again, no covers as a dog in those losses.

08:05And in four of the five as a dog, total has stayed under.

08:10Feels like a large hill to climb for the Mavericks, even at home tonight against Denver.

08:14But yet the line works a little bit back to Dallas.

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