Handicapping Pick of the Day: Boston at Cleveland (10/27/09)
Oct 27, 2009 Picks
[FantasyBasketballDaily.com, October 27, 2009] Today’s game of the day is the first game of the TNT Doubleheader at 7:30 pm EST. Boston heads to Cleveland in what should be a low scoring defensive battle. The current line on the game is Cleveland -4.5 with a total of 185.
This game started out at 186.5. The pace of the game should be like watching paint dry. Adding Shaq isn’t going to speed Cleveland up any, likewise for the recovering Kevin Garnett. Last season Cleveland played at an 88.7 pace while Boston played at a 90.4 pace. League average was 91.7. In addition to the snails pace, both of these teams have excellent defenses. Last season Boston was 2nd in the league with a 102.3 rating while Cleveland was 3rd in the league with a 102.4 rating. League average was 108.3. These defenses are so tough because they just suffocate opponents’ shooting. Cleveland was the 2nd best in the league allowing opponents to shoot only 46.8 eFG%, while Boston was 3rd in the league only allowing opponents a 47.0 eFG%.
Cleveland is missing Delonte West. Boston will most likely limit Kevin Garnett to as few minutes as they can get away with.
Everything points to this being a low scoring affair and I’m going with the Under 185.
PICK: Boston @ Cleveland Under 185