Nuggets vs Cavaliers Betting Odds – Cavs too strong at home for Nuggets

Online betting players will be treated to a meeting of the stars on Thursday night, as LeBron James and Cleveland welcome Carmelo Anthony and Denver to town. The Nuggets won the first clash of the season between these two in Denver, even without an injured Anthony, but even with their star in the lineup, the Nuggets still have trouble on the road, and the Cavaliers are a force at “The Q”.

The Storyline: Nuggets vs Cavaliers Betting Odds
The Nuggets (35-18) kick off their post-All-Star break with back-to-back road games at Cleveland and Washington, and as of Wednesday, they had a 1.5-game lead over Utah in the Northwest Division. The Cavaliers (43-11) own the NBA’s best record and LeBron James is rolling towards his second MVP award, but most of the talk surrounding the team involves trade rumors as Cleveland is reportedly after Amare Stoudamire and Corey Maggette. The Cavs, who are on a 13-game winning streak, are the East favorites while Denver is right there with the Lakers in the West, so this is a possible Finals preview.

Offensive Matchups: Nuggets vs Cavaliers Betting Odds
Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups were the West’s best players in their 141-139 loss to the East in the All-Star Game, and Nuggets coach George Karl gave them a lot of time to show what they could do. Anthony was particularly effective as he missed a couple of weeks before the break due to an ankle injury. The Nuggets are third in the league in scoring, so filling the net isn’t a problem for them.
With James, scoring also doesn’t trouble the Cavaliers, even though they don’t really have an offense outside of “give it to LeBron”. He’s had to do more with injuries to Delonte West and Mo Williams, but having the ball in his hands as much as possible isn’t the worst thing that Cleveland could do. Still, picking up a player like Stoudamire couldn’t hurt.

Betting Edge: Draw

Defensive Matchups: Nuggets vs Cavaliers Betting Odds
The Nuggets’ sportsbook odds would improve if they could just be more consistent on defense, and they really should be better than they are. Billups has gotten the team to play better defense since he came here last season, but you still can’t have confidence in the Nuggets to make a key defensive stop.
The Cavaliers are second to only Boston in points allowed, and say what you want about coach Mike Brown’s inability to create an offense, he does know how to teach defense, and he has a leader on the floor in James who gets the team to talk. Only two of their last 11 opponents have scored 100 points or more.

Betting Edge: Cavaliers

Notable Injuries: Nuggets vs Cavaliers Betting Odds
Kenyon Martin (knee) missed a couple of games before the break, but he should be ready to go on Thursday.
West (finger) played the final game before the break and looked good in 23 minutes of action, while Williams (shoulder) is still out.

Betting Edge: Nuggets

Betting Prediction: Nuggets vs Cavaliers Betting Odds
The Cavaliers will be favored at home at “The Q”, where they are 24-3, and the Nuggets are 12-13 on the road. Denver has won seven of their last 10 against the Cavaliers, including a 99-97 win in Denver on January 8th which Anthony missed. James had eight turnovers as the Nuggets used Martin to play him, but this takes another player out of the post. This leaves room for a player like J.J. Hickson, who played well before the break as he’s being listed as the main bait in the Stoudamire deal. Still, at home, the Cavaliers are the league’s best, and the Nuggets still struggle away from the Pepsi Center.

Craig’s Pick: Cleveland

Craig offers the best sports betting tips in the world of pro hoops, so check him out in the Betting Edge at BetOnline.