NBA Free Premium Play 04/05: Charlotte Bobcats @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Charlotte  at Cleveland

NBA - 809 Charlotte Bobcats @ 810 Cleveland Cavaliers Play #1 I don’t need to talk much about CLE’s defensive performance last night @ATL. On my Daily Message: “The Cavaliers really didn't have a chance last night @ATL as they fell behind by 16 points already in the first quarter. I expected the Hawks to be decent offensively as I didn’t like CLE’s perimeter defense in their previous game @ORL, but ATL really crushed them by shooting 58.5% FG. CLE had the edge w/ rebounding, turnovers & free throws but when you are shooting 39.6% FG vs. allowing their opponent to hit 58.5% of their shots = blowout loss.” CLE didn’t put a lot of effort on the defensive end, but they are really far from being a good defensive team right now… when a team starts Irving + Waiters + Hawes, automatically this team won’t be decent @ defensive end. For tonight, I expect Al Jefferson to completely dominate down low vs. S. Hawes…eventually, the Cavs will double team Big Al but they don’t the proper defensive discipline to rotate well. We’ve won last night w/ UNDER CHA vs. ORL in a game that N. Vucevic was a late scratch and without having any kind of inside game, ORL offense was an “easy” matchup for the Bobcats’ good defense. CHA’s offense has been playing well lately. In L5 games they have a great Off. Rtg numbers = 116.9! They clearly “slowed down” last night @CHA in the second half after scoring 53 points in the first half and leading at the break by 17 points. On the other end, I expect CLE’s guards to be aggressive and attack Big Al’s lack of mobility off PNR’s while S. Hawes will also be a tough matchup for Big Al due to his good shooting range. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 809/810 Over 194.5 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 03/25: Toronto Raptors @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Toronto  at Cleveland

NBA - 651 Toronto Raptors @ 652 Cleveland Cavaliers ***FREE Premium Play*** Despite playing without Kyrie Irving, the Cavaliers’ offense has been decent lately mostly because D. Waiters and J. Jack are finally playing aggressively on the offensive end. CLE completely torched NYK defense (especially in the second half) by shooting 60% from the field. They did their damage primarily via PNR’ plays by Waiters & Jack attacking off the dribble vs. slow footed NYK’s guards. Obviously, TOR’s perimeter defense is way better vs. NYK but the TOR’s PNR ball handler defense as of late has been subpar (at best). In my opinion that is happening mostly because Lowry & DeRozan are playing so many minutes that their effort on the defensive end has been inconsistent. Also, Spencer Hawes could cause some problems to J. Valanciunas due to his good shooting range. On the other side, the Raptors are coming from a nice win vs. ATL even though they struggled offensively in the first 3 quarters. I had a play w/ Under in that game and I really predicted such struggles because TOR was coming from a brutal effort in the previous game vs. OKC (double OT) and w/ early start, they wouldn’t be able to play their best basketball. For this contest, I expect Lowry and DeRozan to have decent offensive numbers because as good Waiters & Jack are on the offensive end, the same thing simply cannot be said on the defensive end. My fair line for this contest is 197/198 points and w/ the current totals line, we have the proper edge to make a play w/ OVER in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 651/652 Over 194.5 @ -110 / 1.91 on 5 Dimes

NBA Free Premium Play 03/22: Houston Rockets @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Houston  at Cleveland

NBA - 503 Houston Rockets @ 504 Cleveland Cavaliers Play #1 After struggling a bit offensively vs. teams that have good interior defenses like OKC & CHI, the Rockets bounced back pretty well and had 3 straight great overall offensive games vs. MIA, UTA & MIN. Not only they shot well the ball from the outside w/ 38-86 3pts (44% clip), but they scored in transition w/ 20, 30 and 25 fast break points while they also crushed their opponents near the basket w/ 54, 58 and 60 points in the paint! I don’t think that the Cavaliers will be able to slow them down, especially w/ a perimeter unit of Jack, Waiters & Gee. The key question for this contest is related w/ CLE offense vs. HOU defense… K. Irving is OUT but the Cavs showed some nice ball movement without him vs. MIA & OKC with 27 assists in each game. S. Hawes has been playing well as of late and for this contest I expect him to be decent vs. HOU’s centers that aren’t mobile and don’t go to “outside”. CLE is playing “faster” lately and this fits well vs. HOU so we can expect this contest to be a fast paced one w/ both teams scoring @ decent rate. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 503/504 Over 204 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 02/11: Sacramento Kings @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Sacramento  at Cleveland

NBA - 501 Sacramento Kings @ 502 Cleveland Cavaliers Play #3 It’s hard to predict these two teams in this season as they are super inconsistent and prone to not “show up” on the court but I expect SAC to have better chances to win this contest, and therefore we have some edge w/ them IMO. Both teams likes to run a ton of P&R’s ball handler plays using their guards, however for some reason, SAC defense has been elite defending this kind of play – ranked #6 allowing 0.75 PPP. Nevertheless, I expect the backcourt battle to be a close matchup as both I. Thomas & K. Irving are tough players to be stopped on the offensive end. Note that L. Deng is banged up w/ his Achilles tendon and so, Rudy Gay will have some edge in here… However the X factor for this contest IMO will be related w/ frontcourt battle… Anderson Varejao is coming from a monster game vs. MEM in which he played 43 minutes and helped CLE to slow down MEM’s frontcourt. The bad news is that he is OUT for tonight’s game and therefore, CLE simply won’t have an answer to stop D. Cousins down low as T. Zeller will be completely overpowered by a D. Cousins that is coming from one of the worst games of the season w/ 3-16 from the field. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 501 Sacramento Kings ML @ -120 / 1.83 on Betonline

NBA Free Premium Play 02/09: Memphis Grizzlies @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Memphis  at Cleveland

NBA - 807 Memphis Grizzlies @ 808 Cleveland Cavaliers Play #4 I expect CLE to be super competitive today by taking advantage of the potential letdown spot from the Grizzlies after MEM’s physical game @ATL last night. Despite having a solid frontline unit, MEM’s Head Coach played ZBO & Gasol 38 & 39 minutes respectively…not a good sign for today’s game. CLE is struggling lately but they are coming from a morale-boost win @WAS in the last game. What really makes me playing CLE today is their positional edge @PG position. MEM is one of the worst defensive teams in the league defending P&R ball handler plays (ranked #24) and to make things even worse, Mike Conley is injured and so, N. Calathes is playing some big minutes right now. This is good news for CLE’s guards especially Irving & Waiters that will have a good spot to perform well offensively vs. slow footed MEM defense. My fair line for this contest is MEM-1 and so, I think that we have some value w/ CLE in this particular spot and that’s why I’m taking them as my Single Dime Play. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 808 Cleveland Cavaliers (+3.5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline

NBA Free Premium Play 01/24: Milwaukee Bucks @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Milwaukee  at Cleveland

NBA - 807 Milwaukee Bucks @ 808 Cleveland Cavaliers Play #1 CLE defense has been just awful lately especially w/ their guards – K. Irving really can’t guard anyone as when D.J Augustin is able to hit 8-14 FG, 5-8 3 pts, 6-6 FT while having 7-2 A/TO vs. CLE= that’s a pretty good sign of mediocrity. MIL’s offense obviously is far from being a decent unit, but they have in B. Knight a pretty aggressive PG that will explore this CLE bad positional defense. MIL is coming from a rare win in their last game vs. DET. Coach Larry Drew decided to start w/ Ilyasova + Henson + Udoh on the frontcourt (Ilyasova being the “Small Forward” of the team) and while MIL was able to score well near the basket w/ 46 points in the paint, their perimeter defense was really terrible w/ bad defensive positioning. For some reason, B. Jennings ended the game w/ 11-23 FG & 30 points and Stuckey w/ 8-16 FG & 23 points. NOTE: L. Drew confirmed that he will use the same starting lineup for tonight These are extremely good news for this CLE offense that depends on their backcourt to be efficient on the offensive end and so, we can expect K. Irving, D. Waiters, J. Jack & L. Deng to enjoy some nice offensive edge on their matchups. My fair line for this contest is 198 points and therefore, I’m taking the Over in here as my Single Dime Play. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 807/808 Over 194.5 @ -110 / 1.91 on 5 Dimes

NBA Free Premium Play 01/22: Chicago Bulls @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Chicago  at Cleveland

NBA - 703 Chicago Bulls @ 704 Cleveland Cavaliers Play #3 This contest is going to be a brutal physical game… Both teams had relatively good spots lately to be involved in high scoring games… CHI has faced PHI & LAL in L2 games and they were able to score +100 points in those two games (even though last game vs. LAL went to OT), while CLE had the “luxury” to play vs. West. Teams in the L6 games – so basically all those games were fast paced contests in which CLE faced top offensive teams and their defense isn’t good enough to stop them. Tonight’s contest is going to be a typical half court battle b/c the first 3 h2h games were all slow paced affairs and I really don’t expect anything different for today… Just imagine the “frontcourt battle” between Deng + Thompson + Varejao vs. Butler + Gibson + Noah…yes, a lot of hustle but not that many offensive skills to score down low. This could be different @ backcourt b/c D.J. Augustin is shooting quite well in the last games (although I don’t think he is capable of sustain this kind of production) while K. Irving will have a notorious edge. CHI’s PG’s tonight (Augustin & Mike James). However, both teams have a hard time to generate good outside shots so in this potential half court pace, I expect this contest to be ugly game to watch and therefore, I’m taking the Under in here! Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 703/704 Under 186.5 @ -110 / 1.91 on 5 Dimes

NBA Free Premium Play 12/31: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Indiana Pacers

Cleveland  at Indiana

NBA - 503 Cleveland Cavaliers @ 504 Indiana Pacers Play #2 Indiana is coming from another nice win this time against Brooklyn by 105-91. Their offense has been excellent lately with offense rates of 119.13, 114.21, 105.85 and 116.36 over their last four games. This improvement on offense is due to a better efficiency on post ups, but especially on the outside shooting where they are excellent with 39.2% 3pts over their last 10 games, the #5 best mark in the league. Looking at Cleveland's defensive ratings lately (105.06, 107.34, 124.74, 125.21, 106.08, 113.77, 118.70, 108.12, 109.48 and 103.82 on their last 10 games), it's hard not to imagine Indiana having another huge offensive game today. The Cavaliers are using a 3-guards lineup with regularity lately and on their last game against the Warriors, they used Kyrie Irving for 40 minutes, Jarrett Jack for 34 minutes and Dion Waiters for 39 minutes. Of course that with such lineup, their defense is struggling. So, the key in here will be to know how the Cavaliers's offense will play against the Pacers's elite defense. Cleveland is now playing faster due to Andrew Bynum being out of the rotation and they have been improving on offense a lot lately, especially on pick and roll ball handler plays, with Kyrie Irving showing his best basketball, while Jarrett Jack is finally waking up after a slow start of the season. Thanks to this, the Cavaliers are always #2 in the league on pick and roll ball handler plays with 0.89 PPP! In comparison, the Nets are playing on a similar way as the Cavaliers with small guards and they had 8-15 FG on pick and roll ball handler plays against Indiana last Saturday for a nice 1.04 PPP! Therefore, I expect the Cavaliers to have a similar or even better outcome today on offense. On the last game between these two teams, Indiana won by 89-74, in a game where George Hill didn't play and Cleveland's offense was still a complete mess. Therefore, that was a game played on the early season where Indiana was winning their games via defense. Things are now different and they are on a 4-games streaks where they have scored 103 points or more. I expect a high scoring game in here and so, I'll be taking the Over on this contest. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 503/504 Over 197 @ -110 /  1.91 on 5 Dimes

NBA Free Premium Play 12/26: Atlanta Hawks @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Atlanta  at Cleveland

NBA - 501 Atlanta Hawks @ 502 Cleveland Cavaliers Play #1 There is a considerable gap of quality between the Hawks and the Cavaliers right now… ATL offense has been great to watch w/ a superb ball movement, high A/TO ratios and great overall shooting. Their game @MIA was a good statement of their ability as a team, even though they lost the game. Tonight’s matchup is extremely favorable for the Hawks as they will explore CLE’s frontcourt lack of speed w/ both Millsap & Horford. CLE frontline unit is a powerful unit but at the same time, they are slow footed and they are automatically in trouble against post players than can shoot from mid range. In the first h2h of the season, the Hawks crushed the Cavs 108-89! Just look for ATL’s big men numbers: Millsap 7-14 FG, 16 pts, 14 reb & 5 assists in just 27 minutes and Horford 10-19 FG, 22 pts, 9 reb & 4 assists in 31min! On the other side, CLE offense is still a work in progress and for now, they need Kyrie Irving to do almost everything. They run a lot of Pick n Rolls but the problem is that ATL is a top 10 defensive team defending P&R ball handler plays (Ranked #7), so it won’t be easy for CLE to generate easy points against a disciplined ATL defense. My fair line for this contest is ATL-6 and that’s why I’m taking them as my Single Dime Play. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 501 Atlanta Hawks (-3) @ -110 / 1.91 on 5 Dimes

NBA Free Premium Play 12/20: Milwaukee Bucks @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Milwaukee  at Cleveland

NBA - 803 Milwaukee Bucks @ 804 Cleveland Cavaliers Play #3 Milwaukee is coming from a double overtime game at home against the Knicks, something really tough for a team that is currently shorthanded. Therefore, three players needed to play over 50 minutes on this game! The Bucks are a terrible defensive rebounding team, with no absolute inside presence and so, I expect Cleveland's frontcourt to absolutely pound Milwaukee down low tonight. Then, Milwaukee's defense is also terrible on pick and roll ball handler plays and Kyrie Irving and Jarrett Jack should be ready to pound the Bucks on this area as well tonight, even though Irving is currently battling an illness. Cleveland has been super competitive as of late by battling toe to toe against elite teams like Portland. Even if Dion Waiters doesn't play tonight (he is questionable with a wrist injury), I believe the Cavaliers have enough conditions to blowout the shorthanded and tired Bucks on this spot. Therefore, I'll be taking Cleveland tonight. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 804 Cleveland Cavaliers (-7,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 12/17: Portland Trail Blazers @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Portland  at Cleveland

NBA - 501 Portland Trail Blazers @ 502 Cleveland Cavaliers ***Free Premium Play*** Portland will play tonight their third game of the road trip and they are 2-0 so far w/ blowout win @PHI, and a terrific comeback win @DET w/ after a strong 26-15 4th quarter score and Damian Lillard’s clutch shot in the Overtime. All their 5 starters logged at least 40 minutes of action so a physical letdown could happen tonight @CLE. I had the OVER in that game @DET and I was expecting DET’s frontcourt to dominate the poor interior defense of the Blazers and indeed they did: POR ended the game w/ 68 points in the paint while 65% of their shots were near the basket. One of the key factors for this improved play from the Cavaliers lately has been their frontcourt, led by Andrew Bynum. Note that CLE was averaging 33.8 points in the paint/game in the first 17 games of the season but in the L6 games = 44.3 ppg! I expect CLE frontline to have a nice offensive edge vs. the Blazers in this area. Even though Lillard is playing better defense this season, he is still a subpar individual defensive player – the Blazers defense is ranked just #20 defending Pick n Rolls Ball Handler plays for some reason! The bad news for them is that Kyrie Irving is playing his best basketball of the season right now – he’s been named the Eastern Conference of the week and in the L3 games he scored 37, 31 and 19 points w/ nice 19/6 A/TO ratio! I also expect Cleveland to have a nice offensive edge in Irving vs. Lillard and/or Mo Williams. Obviously, the Blazers offense will have some key edges as well mainly w/ Aldridge shooting from the outside vs. slow footed CLE frontcourt. Cleveland is yet to be consistent in-game as Mike Brown is still looking for the best rotation but I think that the Cavaliers will be extremely competitive tonight and the Blazers should have been favored by just one ball possession, therefore I’m taking the Cavaliers tonight as my Single Dime Play! Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 502 Cleveland Cavaliers (+5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bovada

NBA Free Premium Play 12/07: Denver Nuggets @ Philadelphia 76ers

Denver  at Philadelphia

NBA - 501 Denver Nuggets @ 502 Philadelphia 76ers Play #2 Denver is coming from a loss at Boston, where they had a terrible start of the game. Their offense was terrible with even some missed dunks, while the defense was non-existent. Then, after being down by more than 20 points early in the game, the Nuggets made a comeback and they were just 3 points down in the third quarter, but they just couldn't win at the end. It looks like Coach Brian Shaw was so pissed by his team's performance in the first half that he didn't even go to the locker room at half time! The Nuggets will be on the worst possible spot tonight, as they will play their fourth game in five days, while being also on a back to back spot. They are 0-3 this season on this spot with losses at Portland, Houston and Cleveland, but the good news is that Denver used 10 players yesterday and all of them played at least 15 minutes. On the other side, Philadelphia lost at Charlotte last night, but the Sixers didn't rotate their players like Denver did. In fact, Evan Turner played 40 minutes and Tony Wroten 35 minutes, so they may struggle tonight on a back to back uptempo game. Denver will be like fish on water on the Sixers' fast tempo pace. Philadelphia is #2 on transition volume, while Denver is #6. However, Philadelphia is #29 on efficiency in this kind of play with 0.98 PPP, while Denver is #10 with 1.13 PPP! On these last two games, Denver's frontcourt was outplayed and their post up defense has been struggling lately, however Philadelphia is the wrong team to explore that. The Sixers shoot a lot of treys per game, but with little efficiency, while Denver will also have a rebound edge tonight that will allow them to run in transition quite a lot in here. Therefore, I believe in a strong bounce back spot for the Nuggets tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 501 Denver Nuggets (-6,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 11/23: Cleveland Cavaliers @ San Antonio Spurs

Cleveland  at San Antonio

NBA - 715 Cleveland Cavaliers @ 716 San Antonio Spurs Play #7 Cleveland's game yesterday at New Orleans was super bizarre. The Cavaliers struggled on the first quarter so much that they used 11(!) players during that quarter! The Cavaliers' offense is now settled into being just a bunch of pick and rolls via Jarrett Jack, Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters. However, they were incredible efficient on this kind of players with 11-19 FG and 1.00 PPP on pick and roll ball handler plays! This is why they only had 15 assists on 41 FG made! The only positive point of that factor was that the Cavaliers' big men were more involved on the offense. San Antonio just keeps on winning and they won last night at Memphis, on a game where they were benefited with Marc Gasol's injury, something that allowed them to attack the basket with 56 points in the paint and 18-25 FG at the rim. The Spurs' elite defense won't have a problem with the Cavaliers' predictable offense tonight, as they are a top 5 team on pick and roll ball handler defense. On the other side, the Spurs offense has been playing well, but Tim Duncan continues to struggle on his shooting. A back to back spot won't be easy for him and so, the Spurs will be too dependent from their perimeter play once again. Therefore, I believe this game will be a low scoring one and so, I'll be taking the Under in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 715/716 Under 192 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 10/30: Brooklyn Nets @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Brooklyn  at Cleveland

NBA - 703 Brooklyn Nets @ 704 Cleveland Cavaliers Play #6 I believe we have a clear case of public overreacting in here on the fact that Mike Brown (defensive-minded coach) is now once again Cleveland's coach. The line was at 197 points that is my projected line, but it's now at 194 points, so we have good value on the Over in here. The problem for Cleveland is that their defense didn't look on preseason, while their new uptempo style will be a good edge against the slow footed Nets tonight. Offensively, the Cavaliers don't have a lot to worry about it. With Kyrie Irving as their starting PG and with Jarrett Jack coming off the bench, the Cavs will rely on pick and rolls to do their damage against the Nets. That's an area where in my opinion Cleveland will have success, as the Nets' frontcourt won't have the proper speed to rotate and protect their guards (Brook Lopez certainly won't leave his position in the painted area no matter what). Anderson Varejao is a solid finisher on pick and rolls, while Tristan Thompson is possibly the player that has impressed me the most with his evolution on the preseason, with his right-handed shooting stroke looking smooth and really effective. Cleveland will be a strong offensive rebounding team this season and Brooklyn with Brook Lopez and the veteran Kevin Garnett will struggle to be a decent defensive rebounding team. On the other side, I didn't really like Cleveland's overall defense on the preseason. Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters looked disinterested and sloppy to get back, something that will be explored by Deron Williams and Shaun Livingston, who impressed me on the preseason as well. With Brook Lopez having a normal edge down low over Cleveland's frontcourt, the Nets will have their usual inside out game that will be lethal, having in account the Cavs' poor perimeter defense. Also note that with Jason Kidd as their coach, the Nets are now playing faster than they were under Avery Johnson. I believe we have all the necessary ingredients for a high scoring game and so, I'll be taking the Over in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 703/704 Over 194 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Team Season Preview 2013-14

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

Season Review 2012/13:

Advanced Stats
	Numbers	Rank
Pace	92.3	13
Offense	104.3	19
Defense	109.4	27
Rebound	50.4	14

4 Factors
Offense	Numbers	Rank	Defense	Numbers	Rank
eFG%	47.3	27	eFG%	52.3	29
TO%	13.0	4	TO%	14.4	7
Reb%	28.1	10	Reb%	27.4	25
FT%	20.0	19	FT%	22.5	25

Monthly Performance
	Record	OffRtg	DefRtg
November	4-12	103.1	110.8
December	3-13	100.3	109.9
January	6-8	107.7	112.5
February	7-5	117.1	112.7
March	2-12	101.5	112.7
April	2-8	103.3	109.9

The Cavaliers didn’t have a lot of expectations for the past season, but still they played below the level that most people expected them to play.

Their roster was quite young, with few to little quality on depth with just one player with potential to be a league superstar, so this kind of roster would always struggle to be competitive on the NBA.

Suddenly, the Cavaliers lost 23 of their first 28 games and they were out of playoff contender already in December! Then, in the second half of the season, the team entered in an extreme tank mode, something they had also done in the previous season in order to get the best draft pick possible:

Cleveland’s record since March 1:

2011-12: 8-25

2012-13: 4-20

Besides Kyrie Irving, the team’s backcourt was limited to be competitive. The organization expected Dion Waiters to make an immediate impact on the NBA, but that didn’t happen, as he had a slow start of his career, including shooting 36.9% and 34.2% FG in 23 games in November and December.

In the frontcourt, as long as Anderson Varejao was healthy, the Cavaliers were an offensive rebound machine, but they offered very little in terms of shot creation. When Varejao went down in December 18, the Cavaliers were forced to “promote” rookie Tyler Zeller into the starting lineup to play alongside Tristan Thompson, something that shows the lack of quality and depth of this unit last season.

Due to the late tank mode, they “managed” to be the fourth worst team in the regular season and then, they were lucky to get the #1 overall pick in the draft. 

Offseason Report:

The first news regarding the team on the off season was the dismissal of Byron Scott as head coach, with him being replaced by Mike Brown, who is returning to Cleveland after leaving the team three seasons ago.

With another #1 draft pick on their hands, Dan Gilbert surprised everybody like they had done last season when he picked Thompson over Valanciunas and this time, he selected Anthony Bennett when very little people expected that to happen.

To improve the backcourt, one of their weakest links in the previous season, Gilbert managed to sign Jarrett Jack, who was coming from an excellent season in Golden State and he will be an important factor for the team as their 6^th man.

Earl Clark was also a good pick up due to his versatility, but the biggest surprise was the signing of Andrew Bynum. Several teams in the league were interesting in signing Bynum, but he picked Cleveland’s deal, a 2-year contract with 12.5 M per year (non-guaranteed).

NBA Free Premium Play 04/17: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Charlotte Bobcats

Cleveland  at Charlotte

NBA - 515 Cleveland Cavaliers @ 516 Charlotte Bobcats Projected Line: Charlotte by 6 points Cleveland has been tanking for a while now and they have already the third worst record in the league and so, they don't have any motivation to win tonight, as if they do, they will tie Phoenix with the 4th worst mark in the league. It is also clear right now that Kyrie Irving is completely disconnected from his coach and there are a lot of rumors flying around that Byron Scott will be fired and it is clearly that Irving wants that to happen, as he is shooting 34.8% FG and averaging 3.6 turnovers per game in April. On the other side, Charlotte has been the opposite. They have a coach fighting to avoid getting fired and this is why he used all his starters for more than 30 minutes on the team's last game against a B team for the Knicks. The Bobcats are tied with Orlando with the worst record in the league, but I believe that Charlotte isn't concerned about that or they wouldn't have won their last two games. In fact, I remember that the Bobcats had the worst record in the league last season and they didn't get the #1 pick in the draft. Therefore, I expect Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson to outplay an uninterested Cavaliers's backcourt, while Josh McRoberts has also been a nice surprise over the last few weeks at the PF position. I believe Charlotte will end the regular season with three nice wins in a row and so, I'll be taking the Bobcats tonight. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 516 Charlotte Bobcats (-2,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Premium Play 04/10: Detroit Pistons @ Cleveland Cavaliers

NBA - 705 Detroit Pistons @ 706 Cleveland Cavaliers

Projected Line: 201 points.

Cleveland is coming from a game at Indiana last night, where the Pacers were asleep for the first three quarters of the game with terrible ball movement and terrible outside shooting: 4-16 3pts and 3-10 FG from 16-23 feet. Also Roy Hibbert and David West didn't take advantage of their huge edge down low. Then, on the fourth quarter, Cleveland wasn't able to stop Indiana's transition plays and the truth is that the Pacers ended with 33 fast break points. Kyrie Irving wasn't supposed to play back to back games, but things have changed as he will play tonight, while Dion Waiters will be also back, so Cleveland will have some scoring punch tonight due to the their guards.

On the other hand, Detroit is coming from a home win against Chicago, where they showed good offense: 53.4% FG, 9-18 3pts and 25 assists! With Jose Calderon out, Rodney Stuckey is now the team's starting PG and with that, the Pistons's defense is quite poor. They are very slow with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond on the frontcourt, while Kyle Singler is also heavy for the SF position. This turns them into a terrible pick and roll ball handler defense team, something that Cleveland should take advantage with Irving and Waiters tonight. The good part for the Pistons is that their offense has now good explosiveness with Stuckey playing at the PG position instead of Calderon. Note that they scored 18 and 16 fast break points on their last two games, while they weren't able to score double digits on this area on their four previous games. I also expect Monroe to pound Cleveland down low, so I believe this game will be a very high scoring game. Therefore, I'll be taking the Over in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 705/706 Over 198 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 04/09: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Indiana Pacers

Cleveland  at Indiana

NBA - 651 Cleveland Cavaliers @ 652 Indiana Pacers Projected Line: Indiana by 18 points We have a clear bounce back spot for the Pacers tonight, who got blown out of their last two games. So, I expect them to be fired up for tonight: After dropping their last two games by 22 and 19 points respectively, Pacers coach Frank Vogel said, "It’s back to the drawing board." He wasn't happy with their effort and mistakes on both ends of the floor. While fatigue has clearly been a factor, he hopes increased rest will have the guys rejuvenated for the final nine days of the regular season. "We played two poor basketball games, which I think was a little bit of a carry over from some bad practices leading into them. A big point of emphasis today is how you practice is how you play and I thought our guys came in with great, positive energy and had a great practice." – Frank Vogel "It’s a lot of things. We can call it fatigue. We can call it just not being sharp out there, a little lazy and not enough energy. Maybe, we all hit the wall for a couple games where we just didn't have a good show. We got to hold our head’s high, be proud of the Central Division title and try to build off of that to try and get that second seed." – George Hill on what went wrong in the last two games In my opinion, their loss against Oklahoma City was due to the lack of energy from the Pacers, especially in the fourth quarter. That's weird considering Indiana had 3 days off to rest prior to that game, while the Thunder was on a back to back spot. However, the Pacers's West Coast road trip was so tough that the Pacers weren't still physically at 100%. Indiana grabbed just 39% of the rebounds in that game, something that shows how tired they still were. In the following night, in Washington DC against the Wizards, the same happened. Indiana is a poor 3pts shooting team on back to back spots and they shot 2-21 and 3-20 3pts on their last two games! Tonight, Indiana should be more focused and especially rested, so I believe Cleveland will have no chance tonight. The Cavaliers are 2-0 on their last two games, but those games were played under very favorable conditions for the Cavaliers. Cleveland's lack of size and depth has been a problem for them all season long, but that wasn't a problem for them on their last two contests, as they defeated the shorthanded Celtics, who played with Chris Wilcox and Brandon Bass on the frontcourt, something that allowed Tristan Thompson to have a monster game: 10-17 FG, 29 points and 17 rebounds! On their last game, they faced Orlando, who has one of the least physical frontcourts in the league. However, the Magic still scored 50 points in the paint in that game! The problem for Cleveland tonight is that Indiana has one of the most powerful frontcourts in the league and with that, I expect the Pacers to have a huge edge on rebounds and on the down low. Cleveland would have to be incredibly efficient on the perimeter in order to be remotely competitive tonight, but Kyrie Irving is clearly struggling right now, as shown on his team's last two games, where he shot just 4-20 FG and 3-15 FG! Indiana will sweep the series against Cleveland tonight, after holding the Cavaliers's offense to 92.7, 90.5 and 97.4 offensive rates in the first three games of this series. I expect an easy win for Indiana tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 652 Indiana Pacers (-13) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Premium Play 04/01: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Atlanta Hawks

NBA - 733 Cleveland Cavaliers @ 734 Atlanta Hawks

Projected Line: Atlanta by 14 points

Cleveland got crushed at New Orleans last night, even though Kyrie Irving returned to the lineup and had a big game with 11-20 FG, 31 points and 6 assists. The offensive boost from Irving's return was evident, but the Cavaliers's problem is really on defend. They were completely outrebounded by the Hornets last night, as they grabbed just 40% of the rebounds, while the Hornets's offense did whatever they wanted to do with the Cavs's defense: 12-21 3pts and 46 points in the paint. Even the slow paced Hornets were able to score 19 fast break points against Cleveland's horrible transition defense! It clearly seems that the Cavaliers have given up on the season and their locker room is currently dealing with some problems between the coach and the players:

Byron Scott's future with the Cavs is "in question," according to the Akron Beacon-Journal. One anonymous Cavs player told the paper that the team is "exhausted" at this point, and went as far as to say Scott "killed us in camp. Out shootarounds are an hour and 45 minutes." One player defended Scott saying that his teammates should "shut up and play," but there are questions about Scott in the front office and this won't be the last time we hear a rumble like this.

The Cavaliers have a tough back to back game at Atlanta tonight, especially with Kyrie Irving not playing. Considering their defense with a poor transition defense and weak rim protection, they will get absolutely crushed by Atlanta's athletic offense! The Hawks are coming from a home win against Orlando, where Al Horford didn't play and Nikola Vucevic has a nice game with 8-17 FG, 17 points and 15 rebounds. However, Cleveland doesn't have any big man with the offensive skills of Vucevic, so they don't do the damage that Orlando was able to do down low. Therefore, I expect an easy blowout win for Atlanta tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 734 Atlanta Hawks (-10) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Premium Play 03/29: Philadelphia 76ers @ Cleveland Cavaliers

NBA - 853 Philadelphia 76ers @ 854 Cleveland Cavaliers

Projected Line: 198 points
Cleveland is absolutely on tank mode right now. They are playing without their two most talented players in Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters, but they keep showing no defensive effort, while the pace of their games has been increased in an incredible way. Their season pace is 91.3, while they have been average a pace factor of 93.0 on their last 10 games and 93.3 on their last 5 games! Defensively, the Cavaliers continue to be horrible down low. They are allowing their opponents to shoot 67% FG at the rim, while their perimeter defense isn't being any better. For today's game, I don't expect any of this to change, so Cleveland will play on a fast tempo and defend terribly. Therefore, the question in here will be to know if they will be able to be efficient on offense or not.

I believe that will happen as Philadelphia is on a similar path. The Sixers are coming from a nice home win against Milwaukee, where they showed how much they have improved on offense lately, with a healthy Jrue Holiday and Thaddeus Young leading the way. Philadelphia pounded Milwaukee with 60 points in the paint and 20 fast break points, while showing a good ball movement with 28 assists. Defensively, Milwaukee was held to just 41.6% FG, but in my opinion there was more demerit from the Bucks's offense in that than merit from Philadelphia's defense, as Milwaukee just couldn't hit an outside shot to save their lives: 3-15 FG from 10-15 feet, 5-19 FG from 16-23 feet and 6-24 3pts!

The first two games between these two teams were low scoring contests played in November. Things will be much different today, as both teams won't have tonight the defensive focus that they had at the start of the season and so, this will quickly turn into a high scoring affair. Therefore, I'll be taking the Over in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 853/854 Over 194 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker