Cleveland Cavaliers at New Jersey Nets (+11, 192.5)
The Cleveland Cavaliers are on roll. They hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a 26-8 record. LeBron and company have won six straight games and 11 of their last 12 overall. They have defeated the Hawks not once but twice, managed to hold the Suns under 100 points and handled the defending champion Lakers easily in a 102-87 Christmas Day victory.
The New Jersey Nets are the complete opposite. These cellar dwellers of the East are the worst team in the Association with an embarrassing 3-29 overall record. In their three wins (Charlotte, Chicago and New York), they combined to average 101 points per game while allowing 96.
Cleveland, a team who takes great pride in lockdown defense, sits fourth-best in the NBA while limiting opponents to only 93 ppg. The Nets are worst in the NBA, struggling to score above 90 points per outing.
In the second game of back-to-back wins versus the Hawks, Cleveland held the Eastern Conference’s highest scoring team scoreless for a span of 8:49 in the fourth quarter.
''It wasn't pretty,'' said Cavs head man Mike Brown. ''During that particular stretch, we were pretty physical and we were physical without fouling.''
Pick: Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks at Sacramento Kings (N/A)
The Kings have lost three of their last four games and their schedule only continues to get tougher. Rookie standout Tyreke Evans has missed the past three games with a sprained right ankle and is expected to miss the rest of the week.
The Kings go as their rookie point guard goes. This was made clear when Evans willed his Kings from a 79-44 deficit with eight minutes left in the third quarter in Chicago on Dec. 21. Evans scored nine of his 11 fourth-quarter points in the final 2:13 while finishing with a team-high 23 points (18 in the second half) and eight rebounds in the 102-98 victory.
With help from his strong performance in Chicago, Evans was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month in December. In his 28 games played in purple thus far, he has averaged 20.3 points, 4.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds. He has been compared to the likes of LeBron James and Derrick Rose. His unique combination of size, skill and speed makes him more than difficult to defend.
"I'm in a pretty good position right now. But I want to win, and I want us to get in the playoffs,” Evans said. “I want each team that plays us to know they're going to be in a game every night."
The Sacramento Queens won’t be in this game on this night without their prince of a point guard.
Pick: Mavericks