Cleveland at Washington – Take the Wizards plus the Dime

BetOnline NBA Betting Odds: CLEVELAND -10.5, Total 196.5

Here are some of the NBA sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* CLEV has covered three of its last ten games

* CLEV has won its last 13 games SU

* CLEV has played its last five games UNDER the total

* CLEV has won seven of its last eight road games SU

* CLEV has played four of its last six road games OVER the total

* WASH has lost eight of its last nine games SU

* WASH has lost five of its last seven home games SU

Also…

* WASH has covered four of the last six meetings

* CLEV has won 15 of the last 21 meetings SU

* Four of the last six meetings have gone UNDER the total

* WASH has won four of the last six meetings SU as the home team

* Four of the last six meetings in Washington have gone OVER the total

* WASH has had the shooting edge in five of the last six meetings

* CLEV has had the rebounding edge in eight of the last ten meetings

* CLEV has made more three-pointers in each of the last five meetings

Cleveland is in a rather comfortable position, at least from where spectators sit. The Cavs have a pretty insurmountable lead in the Eastern Conference, as they are six games in front of Orlando and five ahead of Boston. They’re also 2.5 games ahead of the Lakers for the league’s best record, and that would mean they could host four games in an NBA title series if they have to face Los Angeles. The Cavs have won 13 games in a row and has had a day off after a rather subpar effort against the Pistons.

The Wizards, a nine-point underdog, scored an 80-77 win the last time these teams met, back here at the Verizon Center on January 4. LeBron James had 30 points that night, but the rest of his team hit just 17 of 49 shots. Mike Brown had been ejected from the game in the fourth quarter, but he couldn’t have helped the Cavaliers overcome a 16-point deficit. Washington got 45 combined points from Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison that evening, and they had 59 points together in Washington’s last game, which was a loss at Memphis.

This is more than just revenge for Cleveland. This is a hated rival, against whom they have played bloody playoff series over the last couple of years, so it might mean a little extra. The Wizards have recently gotten Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood back into action. Haywood was one-for-six against Memphis for two points. Arenas had 15 points and 10 assists with just one turnover in his lone appearance against Detroit.

However, Agent Zero, who is clearly not ready to tax himself yet, was just 3-for-12 in that game and has sat out the last couple of games. Guards Mike James and DeShawn Stevenson and center Etan Thomas are all out for the remainder of the schedule, and the starting backcourt is Jarvis Crittendon and Dominic McGuire, with Andray Blatche occupying most of the time at center. That would hardly seem to measure up against a motivated, deep Cleveland team.

Once again, though, Washington searches for that little something extra against Cleveland, and with this being part of the TNT doubleheader you will see about the best Arenas has to offer. If he’s on form, he does indeed create a "Big Three" with Butler and Jamison, and the players are talking about what a boost to morale it has been that he’s returned (for example, one player thought it inspired Haywood to return) so, with this being the kind of game that could make up for a lot of frustration, it may not be too much to expect that they could cover this large number. We’ll grab it with the Wizards, the 10.5-point underdog in the BetOnline NBA pro basketball sports betting odds.

JAY’S PLAY: WASHINGTON +10.5 **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)