Are the Cavaliers a Safe NBA Pick to Win the 2018 Championship?

If you’ve watched the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals and you’ve seen the Cleveland Cavaliers basically get dominated by the ‘super gritty’ Boston Celtics, then by now, you’ve got to know that the Cavs are not a safe NBA Betting pick to win the 2018 Championship. While LeBron James is still pretty damned amazing and Kevin Love is still a very good player as well, the fact of the matter is that the Cavs have been one of the worst defensive teams in the league all season long and they’re defensive shortcomings have shown in a big way against Boston’s well-balanced offensive attack over the first two games of the conference finals. Let’s check their odds to win it all while trying to find a way for them to do it!

Are the Cavaliers a Safe NBA Betting Pick to Win the 2018 Championship?

LeBron James has had three playoff games with 40+ PTS, 10+ AST, and 10+ REB in his career. The only other player with more than one such game is Oscar Robertson, with two. @EliasSports pic.twitter.com/CUnUF6EdPl

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) 16 de mayo de 2018

The Numbers

The Cavaliers may have ranked an encouraging fifth in scoring in the regular season (110.9 ppg), and an identical fifth in field goal shooting percentage (47.6%) while also ranking sixth in three-point shooting percentage (37.2%), but again, Cleveland was pitiful at the other end of the court in ranking 26th in points allowed (106.9 ppg), 28th in field goal shooting defense (47.4%) and 22nd against the three-point shot (36.8 %). As far as betting purposes go, the Cavs also underachieved at a high rate by going 13-27 ATS at home and 19-22 ATS on the road. Cleveland almost lost to Indiana in the first round and needed seven games and a series of 40-point games from LeBron James in order to get past Victor Oladipo and the Pacers. While the Cavs looked much better in sweeping the top-seeded Toronto Raptors in the second round for the second consecutive season, if you’ve been paying attention to the Eastern Conference Finals, then you’ve got to know Cleveland is in trouble. The Cavs got smacked around from beginning to end in their humbling 108-83 Game 1 loss to Boston Celtics and then fell completely apart in the second half against the Celtics in their 107-94 Game 2 loss on Tuesday night.

Team Rankings

• Average Score For: 7
• Offensive rebounds: 28
• Offensive Field Goal Percentage: 5
• Average Score Against: 25
• Defensive rebounds: 20
• Defensive Field Goal Percentage: 47.43

Final NBA Betting Prediction

Again, while LeBron James is playing as well as he ever has at the age of 33 and Kevin Love is still a very good player as well, Cleveland is lacking at just about every other position and just doesn’t have the feel of a team that should scare anyone at this point. Even if the Cavs were to somehow come back and beat Boston (Not gonna’ happen) you’ve got to know that there is no way Cleveland could ever get past either Golden State or Houston in the NBA Finals.

Last 10 NBA Champions

• 2017: Golden State Warriors
• 2016: Cleveland Cavaliers
• 2015: Golden State Warriors
• 2014: San Antonio Spurs
• 2013: Miami Heat
• 2012: Miami Heat
• 2011: Dallas Mavericks
• 2010: Los Angeles Lakers
• 2009: Los Angeles Lakers
• 2008: Boston Celtics