Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards Prediction: Can Jarrett Allen Expose the Wizards' Defense?
The Cleveland Cavaliers travel to DC to take on the Washington Wizards. Can Jarrett Allen expose the Wizards' defense tonight? Ben Rajavuori breaks this Eastern Conference game down.
Ben Rajavuori - February 25, 2024, 1:06 PM EST
7 minCleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards Prediction: Can Jarrett Allen Expose the Wizards' Defense?
The Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Washington, DC today to take on the Washington Wizards. The Cavaliers have lost back-to-back games to the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers, and now look to bounce back and stay high up in the Eastern Conference, as they currently sit second in the conference with a record of 36–19. The Wizards are on a ten-game losing streak and have not won since they beat the San Antonio Spurs back on January 29. It doesn’t get much worse for the Wizards, as they sit 14th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 9–47. What should we expect in this game tonight?
Cavaliers vs. Wizards DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: February 25, 2024
- Game Time: 6:00 pm ET
- Where to Watch: NBA League Pass
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards Prediction
The player I am targeting in tonight‘s game is the Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen. Allen is having another good year with the Cavaliers, as he is averaging 15.8 points per game, 10.6 rebounds per game, and 2.7 assists per game. He is third on the team in scoring behind Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland and he leads the team in rebounds per game. He should have a very advantageous matchup against the Wizards' defense tonight.
No other team has been worse than the Wizards all season at guarding bigs and defending the paint. In fact, the Wizards are allowing the most points per game given up to centers with 27 and they are also giving up the most rebounds per game to centers with 18.4. that’s a combined 45 points plus rebounds given up to centers per game, and Jarrett Allen’s line tonight is 29.5 for this combo.
Allen has played the Wizards three times this season and has only hit this number once. However, the Wizards recently traded away Daniel Gafford, which leaves their presence in the paint even thinner with Marvin Bagley III at the position now. Jarrett Allen has yet to play the Wizards this year with Gafford not on the Wizards.
I think that presents an even more advantageous matchup for him tonight. Allen is averaging 26.4 points plus rebounds on the season, but he is averaging 28.4 in February, which is just under this line tonight. Given that the Wizards struggle so much defending the paint and against opposing centers, I think Allen can excel his average and hit 30 tonight against this porous defense.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards Pick
Pick: Jarrett Allen Over 29.5 Points + Rebounds -105 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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