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There is no such thing as sure money when it comes to betting, but the Cleveland Cavaliers have been about the closest things to a sure thing in these NBA playoffs.
Not only are the Cavs 5-0 ATS in winning their first five so far, but LeBron James and Co. have beaten the Pistons and Hawks by an average of 17.8 points, whereas the average point spread has been a little over 7 points.
Well, oddsmakers are catching on, as Cleveland is a whopping 13-point favorite on WagerWeb.com for Game 2, with an over/under of 178.
Atlanta actually hung with Cleveland for the first half on Tuesday night but then was outscored 50-28 in the second half. It's Atlanta's 14th playoff road loss in its past 15 games, and the past five have been by at least 20 points.
"We played as good as we could in the first half and we should have converted that to the second half," said Atlanta's Josh Smith.
More bad news for Atlanta: Their best inside player, center Al Horford, reaggravated an ankle injury in Game 1 and might not play tonight after missing practice Wednesday. Horford managed to play 25 minutes but with just four points and eight rebounds. He is easily Atlanta's best interior defender.
"If I had to say right now, I'd say probably not," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said after practice Wednesday. "He looked good before halftime. But the long break must have done something, because he was having all sorts of trouble after that.
"I'd rather give him a couple of days of rest and have him healthy for Game 3 [Saturday night at Philips Arena] rather than pushing him now and making it worse."
What Atlanta needs is Smith and Joe Johnson to each score 20 points. The Hawks are 11-1 this year, regular season and playoffs included, when those two have 20 or more points each in the same game. Smith did his part with 22 in Game 1, but Johnson's playoff struggles continued with just 11.
The Cavaliers are allowing just 76.8 points per game, more than 11 fewer than the next team — Houston (87.9) — still alive in the postseason.
WagerWeb.com Key Trends
* Home team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
* Favorite is 17-8 ATS in the last 25 meetings.
Great Sports Selections take is this: Until Cleveland doesn''t cover or lose a cover, we will ride them Get on when a team is hot and get off when they lose the first one. Atlanta has had a good run but Miami was no Cleveland and now they are playign the big dogs... Goog Luck tonight!!!
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