Daily Picks 11/08: It Must Be Love
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Washington Wizards, 7:00 PM:
The Cleveland Cavaliers travels to Washington as a pair of (2-5) teams meet in a bottom-of-the league battle.
Cleveland lost a third straight game after falling at home to the Boston Celtics 119-113 on Tuesday night.
The Cavs kept the game close behind efforts from second-year point guard Collin Sexton who totaled a team-high 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting.
Big man Tristan Thompson was next in line with 19 points, and put together a double-double with a team-high 13 rebounds and four assists.
Forward Kevin Love nearly had a double-double of his own while shooting 50 per cent from the field, finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks.
The Washington Wizards fell back into losing ways with a 121-106 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday evening.
Bradley Beal led the way, shooting 12-of-29 from the field for 30 points, including 1-of-12 from three-point range while adding a team-high five assists and five rebounds.
Center Thomas Bryant played big and put together a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
A cause for concern was the output from first and second year starting forwards Rui Hachimura and Isaac Bonga who combined to score zero points on 0-of-7 shooting.
Take the Cavaliers with the points (+4.5) in Washington. My expectation is a neck-and-neck matchup between these two struggling teams. The Wizards have allowed the sixth most points per game this season (118.1), and although the Cavs struggle to score (106.1 ppg), look for Sexton and Love to have big games with open opportunities.
Miami Heat @ Los Angeles Lakers (-8), 10:30 PM:
The Los Angeles Lakers (6-1) sit alone at the top of the Western Conference standings following a come-from-behind 118-112 win over the Chicago Bulls.
Los Angeles trailed by 10 points heading into the fourth quarter, but forward Kyle Kuzma powered the Lakers in his third game back from injury, scoring 11 of his 15 points in the final period.
LeBron James put together his third consecutive triple-double and led the team in each category, scoring 30 points with 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
Anthony Davis played his part by scoring 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting with seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
The Miami Heat (5-2) got back on track and edged out the Phoenix Sun 124-108.
Miami was lights out, shooting over 50 per cent from both the field and three-point range. Leading the way was Jimmy Butler who knocked down 11-of-16 shooting for 34 points.
Goran Dragic came up huge off the bench, hitting five-of-seven three pointers for 25 points. Bam Adebayo added a double-double totaling 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Take Los Angeles to cover the spread (-8). Miami is one of the hottest teams in basketball, but my expectation is the duo of Davis and James will take over on the defensive side and slow down the explosive Heat offense. Los Angeles allows the fifth fewest points per game (101.1 ppg).
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