NBA Betting Preview – LeBron Visits Wade Tonight

Whenever two of the best scorers in the league are matchup up against each other, you know you’re going to get an exciting game. Any tilt featuring LeBron James and Dwyane Wade is going to generate the type of betting that keeps the oddsmakers’ heads spinning. Of course, during this game we’ll be embroiled in free agency talk with both superstars suddenly becoming up for grabs on July 1st. LeBron has a recent victory over his chief rival, Kobe Bryant, and has won the past three contests against Wade’s Miami Heat.

In 21 meetings between the two, LeBron has gone 11-9 SU averaging 28.9 points, 5.6 board and 7.7 assists. A large reason for that is that the Cavaliers are simply a more balanced scoring team. That, however, could change without the presence of his backup wingman, Mo Williams. The fact that the Oklahoma City Thunder, who lost a 100-99 decision against the Cavs, gave Cleveland such a run for its money on the hardwood is a sign that the Heat have more than fighting chance of winning this pro NBA basketball betting game.

It’s also encouraging for those of you how prefer South Beach’s own tonight that Cleveland has been a rough bet overall. They’re 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games and hold that same record in their last 6 away from home. On the road in general, they’re 8-2 SU.

Not to be out done, Wade has averaged 27.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.7 assists in his 21 meetings with LeBron. While Cleveland has a ton of momentum riding in to this game, Miami is on a strong hot streak at home, going 5-2 SU/ATS in their last 7 home stands. Against Cleveland, they’re 10-3 SU in their last 13 games at home. More recently, Miami is just 2-5 ATS when playing the Cavaliers. That’s why it’s a massive relief that the oddsmakers have thrown in the towel making this game a pick ‘em.

Cleveland Cavaliers (34-11) vs. Miami Heat (23-20) >> Join Now to Bet!
Monday, January 25th — AmericanAirlines Arena — 7:30pm EST
NBA Betting Line: PK (190)

The absence of Mo Williams is going to be the most striking difference in this game. Behind Mo on the stat sheet is Shaquille O’Neal with just 11.0 points and Anderson Varejao with only 8.3 points per game. Off the bench, Delonte West has scored an average of 7.4 points per game and has a fractured left finger which will make him a virtual non-factor in tonight’s game. For those of you assured by LeBron, he’ll be a one man army tonight.

In Miami’s last three victories, they’ve averaged 113.3 points of offence, which is a vast increase over their 97.6 points per game average this season. Part of what has made Miami a much more credible bet this season is their 9th ranked defense which gives up just 96.9 points per game. Credit the more stable and reliable production of Michael Beasley, who is averaging 18.2 points per game in his last five, for the boost in scoring. Beasley will have his hands full tonight if he’s assigned LeBron, which is the expected decision by Miami’s coaching.

Choosing this game is simply a coin toss between who you like better. Without Mo Williams and Delonte West, the Cavs are much more one-dimensional in terms of their back court. LeBron can take over the game, but Wade has proven the insane ability to match Bron Bron point-for-point on the scoreboard. The fact that Wade has a better supporting cast tonight (for once) should lean you in his favor and with the home court advantage it’s basically a lock.

I’ll leave all the chatter about 2010 and these two for later in the year. Right now all I care about is Miami winning straight up over the Cavs and holding the score to the UNDER as the rest of Cleveland fails to whether the storm.

Furious Free Pick: Miami PK (UNDER)