Lakers vs Cavaliers Prediction & Player Props: Will AD continue to dominate in Cleveland?

Anthony Davis, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers continue their East Coast trip to take on Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

There is a lot to unpack in this Tuesday Night showdown between two cross-conference teams.

LeBron is returning to his beloved Cleveland, which is always a headline.

LeBron will always have added incentive and extra emotion when playing in his hometown gym.

No matter the outcome of this game, it is must-see TV.

LeBron is in the twilight of his career and this may be one of the last times we see him play in the gym where he made plays, night in and night out, that made him one of the greatest of all time.

All the sappy narrative aside, the Lakers are playing great basketball right now, and while LeBron is a part of that, it is on the broad shoulders of Big Man Anthony Davis.

The Lakers are 5-1 in their last 6 games and it is largely because of AD.

Davis has been spectacular, averaging over 28 Pts and 12 Rebs per game and looking like an early MVP candidate.

He has 40+ pts in 2 games, and just dropped 55 in the Lakers’ last game against the Wizards.

Tonight, AD gets a go at the Cavaliers, who just announced that they may get their All-Star defensive stud Jarrett Allen back tonight.

Status alert: Jarrett Allen (back) participating in shootaround Tuesday.

— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) December 6, 2022

When starting this article, the news about Allen had not come out yet but it will make this matchup even more enticing.

Allen will play a part for sure, but the Cavs have been riding the fantastic offensive play of offseason acquisition Donovan Mitchell.

Mitchell has been awesome, averaging over 28 points per game and fitting in perfectly in this Cavs lineup.

Tonight, this game will be full of drama and many twists and turns.

Will the Lakers and AD stay hot and get LeBron a happy homecoming or will the Cavs continue to assert their dominance as one of the top dogs in the East and get another decisive win?

Odds

Available at BetOnline Sportsbook

Spread

• Lakers +5 (-110)
• Cavaliers -5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Lakers (+168)
• Cavaliers (-200)

Total

• Over 225 (-112)
• Under 225 (-108)

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Prediction

The Allen news made me think a little harder about this but I am not going to go against my original thought here.

Give me the Lakers.

Even if Allen is back, he surely is not 100% and won’t play a full compliment of minutes.

Anothony Davis is almost unguardable right now and if he continues to play like this, the Lakers will continue to compete and Davis could possibly be in the MVP conversation late in the season.

This could be yet another statement game for AD and the Lakers tonight, on the road, against one of the best teams in the East.

Best Bet

Lakers +5 (-110)

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Props

Anthony Davis o27.5 pts (-105)

I am sure you are shocked I am playing Davis here.

Sorry to be so predicatable 😉

But how can you not play Davis right now?

As I talked about above, he is just on another level right now and I don’t see that slowing down tonight.

He has hit this points line in 6 of his last 9 games, but if you take into account his points line was 23.5 a week ago, he is 9 for a cool 9.

He hit 30+ in 6 of those 9 as well.

I love Davis to flirt with 30 points yet again and keep the Lakers firmly in this one, from start to finish.

Russell Westbrook o6.5 Assists (-115)

This feels like a gift.

Russ has been playing much better basketball coming off the bench for the Lakers the past 5 games.

He looks in control and is dishing the rock so well right now.

He has 10+ assists in 2 straight and in the matchup with the Cavs earlier this season, he had 10 as well.

That was a while ago now and LeBron was out so the game script was different but still.

He is going to have plenty of chances to feed AD and LeBron and they have been knocking down their shots.

I will be also laddering his assists.

Bonus:

Westbrook 8+ assists (+135)

10+ assists (+370)

12+ assists (+850)

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Enjoy this one and the slate of NBA games tonight.

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Thanks for stopping by and, as always, Peace and Love!

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