Golden State Warriors vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 11/11/2023, 09:24  by Joseph King | Modified on 11/11/2023 at 12:30 in NBA Prediction

The 3-5 Cleveland Cavaliers travel west to take on the 6-3 Golden State Warriors for the final game on Thursday night’s four-game NBA slate. The Warriors hold a 9-1 series lead over Cleveland in the teams’ 10 games since their epic four-year NBA Finals rivalry. The Cavs were able to earn their first win against the Dubs in the post-LeBron era just last week when they ran out 115-104 winners at home. Golden State will be looking to bounce back from a 108-105 away loss to the defending champions Denver in their last outing. The Warriors have experienced a strong start to the season overall and are currently sitting fourth in the Western Conference. Their last appearance in this building was a slim 102-101 win over the Kings, pulling their home record to 1-1 on the year. Seven of the Warriors’ nine games so far have come on the road where they have posted an impressive 5-2 record.

The Cavaliers have experienced a slow start to the new season as they currently sit 12th in the East and are two games below .500. Injuries have been the main culprit for Cleveland’s early struggles with Garland and Allen both missing a number of games to start the year. Both players are back now but the Cavs haven’t seen an immediate improvement in results. With Garland, Allen and Mitchell all on the court, the visitors are just 1-2. Last year’s top ranking defense has now fallen to 12th with 112.1 points allowed on average per game. The offense has struggled as well and has posted the 26th highest average points total at just 108.6 per game. Despite the drop in statistics, Cleveland still possesses the leagues’ sixth-best adjusted net rating. With their core now healthy, expect the Cavs to start climbing the East standings.