The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a disappointing 5-6 straight up and 2-8-1 against the spread start to the 2017-18 season. The Cavaliers hope to win back-to-back games for the first time since winning their first two games of the season on the road against the Houston Rockets on Thursday.
Cavaliers vs. Rockets 2017 odds: Cleveland a betting underdog at Houston for Thursday
The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to earn a road win this Thursday night against the Houston Rockets while getting points on the betting lines at the sportsbooks.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Cleveland is a 5-point road underdog in Houston at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. In the last 10 meetings between these two teams, the Rockets hold an 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS edge.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Houston Rockets
When: Thursday, November 9, 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: Toyota Center, Houston
Betting Line / Total: Houston -5 / 228 Points
Cleveland Cavaliers
Life after Kyrie Irving isn’t off to a great start in Cleveland. Without his usual help on offense, LeBron James is averaging 28.9 points per game through the first 11 games of the season, a scoring pace he hasn’t had since the 2009-10 season in Cleveland.
Dwyane Wade and JR Smith have both struggled at shooting guard, but Cleveland’s biggest issue has been its defense. Allowing 113.9 points per game, the Cavaliers rank 28th in the league in scoring defense.
The Cavaliers are 3-1 SU and 3-0-1 ATS in their last four games as a betting underdog per the OddsShark NBA Database. Cleveland was 1-13 SU and 3-10 ATS in its previous 14 games as a dog.
Houston Rockets
Through their first 11 games of the season, the Rockets shared the top spot in the Western Conference with the Golden State Warriors with an 8-3 SU and 6-5 ATS record. Houston stands to get even better in the coming weeks when newcomer Chris Paul returns from a knee injury that has kept him out since the Rockets’ season opener against Golden State.
The Rockets’ +6.6 scoring differential is third behind only the Warriors at +10 and Boston at +9. Houston is 3-0 SU and ATS over its last three games.
Thursday’s total is set at 228. The OVER is 4-0 over Houston’s last four games.
Cleveland hasn’t had the look of an NBA title contender early this season, but slow stretches during the regular season are nothing new for James’s Cavaliers. Big games tend to bring out the best in this group, however, and a road game at Houston could do just that and make for an entertaining game between two of the league’s top offenses.
