Knicks vs Cavaliers Pick, Preview & Betting Odds For Friday, March 31st

Check out our free Knicks vs Cavaliers pick and preview for this NBA game in Cleveland. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this NBA matchup.

Knicks vs Cavaliers NBA Pick & Preview

Sport: NBA
Teams: New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers
Where: Cleveland at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Date: Friday, March 31st
Betting Odds CLE -5.5, NY +179 | CLE -220 O/U 220.5

The Knicks come into today’s matchup with an overall record of 44-33. So far, the team has gone 43-33-1 against the spread. New York has posted an average scoring differential of 15.5 points per game across their currrent 2 game win streak.

The Knicks will look to keep things rolling, as they previously beat the Heat by a score of 101-92. Heading into the game, they were 6 point favorites against the spread, giving them an ATS win. New York went into halftime with a narrow 2 point lead before being able to slightly add to that margin by the games end. Leading the team in scoring was Immanuel Quickley, as he contributed 24 points while hitting 57.1% of his shots.

The Cavaliers come into today’s matchup with an overall record of 48-29. So far, the team has gone 43-33-1 against the spread. In their previous 3 games, the Cavaliers are averaging 114 points per game while allowing 108. This has led to a record of 2-1.

Cleveland will be gunning to get in the win column vs New York, as they previously lost to the Hawks by a score of 120-118. However, because they entered as 2 point underdogs, they came away with an ATS win. Cleveland was not able to turn things around in the 2nd half, as they trailed the Hawks by 2 going into halftime. In the loss, Donovan Mitchell led the team in scoring with 44 points on a field goal percentage of 45.5%.

Head To Head Recap & Stats

In the most recent matchup between the two teams, the Cavaliers picked up the 121-108 win over the Knicks. The Cavaliers point margin of victory was enough to cover the spread as 4.0 point favorite. So far this season, the Knicks have a record of 2-1 vs the Cavaliers. Last year, the Knicks saw a drop in overall scoring when playing the Cavaliers, averaging 101.0 points per game. As for New York, they actually improved their points per game numbers in head-to-head matchups, averaging 113.33 points per contest against the Cavaliers. Across the last 5 matchups between the teams, New York has gone 3-2 vs the spread. However, the Cavaliers actually have a positive scoring margin in these games at +4 points per game. Over the course of these games, they averaged 202 points per game, leading a 1-3-1 over-under record.

Odds & Free Betting Analysis For This NBA Game

Through 77 games, the Knicks are averaging 115.4 points per contest, placing them 13th in the NBA. So far, the Knicks are averaging 97.5 possessions per game, which places them below the NBA average. This deliberate style of basketball has played a role in the unit ranking just 20th in made shots per game.

So far, the Knicks have played well defensively, as they are ranked 6th in the league at 106.6 points per contest.

New York will be relying on Jalen Brunson to provide a strong scoring performance in today’s game against the Cleveland. Julius Randle has been ruled out. So far this season, Randle has been the team’s leading scorer with an average of 25.1 points per game. Brunson is 2nd on the team with 23.6 points per game, which places him 29.0th in the NBA. In 66 games, he has hit 48.8% of his field goal attempts and is averaging 3.5 rebounds per game.

The Cavaliers come into today’s game as the 24th ranked scoring offense at 112.3 points per game. When looking at the team’s pace of play, the Cavaliers are currently below the league average in possessions per game, averaging just 95.7 per contest. A key aspect of the team’s offensive struggles is the fact that they not only play at a slow pace, but they struggle to score inside. Heading into today’s game, Cleveland is just 13th in shots made inside the arc.

So far, the Cavaliers have played well defensively, as they are ranked 5th in the league at 105.67 points per contest.

On offense, Donovan Mitchell leads the Cavaliers in scoring at 27.6 points per game, placing him 11th in the NBA. Overall, Mitchell has hit 47.6% of his shots while accounting for 24.1% of the team’s looks from the field. In today’s game, he will be working against a defensive unit that is 22nd in points allowed to shooting guards. At 21.7 points per game, Darius Garland is the 2nd leading scorer for the Cavaliers. For the season, he is 70th in the league in player efficiency rating, while posting a field goal percentage of 46.6%.