The Daily Sweat: The Cavs and Hornets have been fantastic against the spread so far – Yahoo Sports

The Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers have been two of the best teams against the spread in the NBA this season.

Both Charlotte and Cleveland have covered the spread in roughly 60% of their games so far this season. Cleveland is 30-20-2 against the spread and 31-21 overall while Charlotte is 31-21 against the spread with a record of 28-24. Only Memphis (at 65%) and Oklahoma City have done better against the number so far this season.

Just one of those two teams in the Eastern Conference is going to cover on Friday night, however, as the Cavaliers travel to Charlotte in the best game of the evening. Charlotte is favored by 4.5 points at BetMGM ahead of the matchup as the Hornets are in eighth in the East, 4.5 games back of the top seed.

Friday nights game could be pivotal for playoff seeding down the road given the crowded Eastern Conference standings. The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat are tied for the top seed and just 8.5 games separate the Bulls and the New York Knicks in 12th. Cleveland is fifth in the standings and just 1.5 games back of the Bulls with the 76ers and Bucks a game back of the top spot in third and fourth.

The contest between the Cavaliers and Hornets is also a contrast in styles. The Hornets lead the league with 114 points per game and play at the second-fastest pace in the NBA. The Cavaliers give up the fewest points per game in the league at just over 102 and play at the 25th-slowest pace in the league.

Thats why the total is relatively low at 218.5. It took until the final minutes a week ago against the Lakers to hit, but were going to go with another Charlotte over on Friday night. Charlottes defensive rating is 26th in the league; we think Cleveland wont have much trouble keeping up if Charlotte controls the tempo.

While Cleveland and Charlotte is a matchup of teams that have been very good against the spread this year, Brooklyns trip to Utah is a game between teams that are having a hard time covering this season.

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Brooklyn is the worst team in the NBA against the spread so far this season thanks to the Nets popularity and their injury issues. The Nets are just 19-31-1 against the spread and the only team that has failed to cover in fewer than 40% of its games. The Jazz arent much better. Utah is 21-30-1 against the spread in 2021-22 and has covered in just 41.2% of games.

Utah is favored by 5.5 points on Friday night as Donovan Mitchell could make his return to the court. Mitchell has missed eight games while in the NBAs concussion protocols and the team said Thursday that hes available to return.

Rudy Gobert is set to miss the game, however. Gobert has missed the past five games with a strained calf after he returned from the leagues COVID-19 protocols. The Jazz went just 2-6 in Mitchells absence and has lost 11 of its last 14. Sixth man Joe Ingles also suffered a season-ending knee injury during the Jazzs slump.

The Nets are 0-3 on their western road trip so far. The Nets have lost to the Warriors, Suns, and Kings and are in the midst of a six-game losing streak since beating the Spurs on Jan. 21.

While Kevin Durant will miss Fridays game because of a knee injury, the Nets should have both Kyrie Irving and James Harden. The latter had just four points on 2-of-11 shooting in 37 minutes in a 112-101 loss to the Kings on Wednesday.

English soccer is back on its domestic calendar after the international break. The fourth round begins on Friday with a matchup between Manchester United and Middlesbrough. Man United is -300 to win. To take a look at all the odds and fixtures over the weekend, click here.

Power went 8-under in the first round on Thursday and trails Tom Hoge by a stroke in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. That fantastic first round means Power is at +350 to win the tournament. His odds are slightly ahead of pre-tournament favorite Patrick Cantlay at +400. Cantlay is three shots back of the lead.

There are odds available for Sundays exhibition race at the Los Angeles Coliseum short track and were here to tell you to not bet the race.

The quarter-mile track inside the historic stadium is brand new. So are the cars. Its the first time teams have raced the completely new car built for 2022 and its happening on a track thats been constructed on a football field.

That could lead to an entertaining race. And some unpredictability. Those two factors are why you should sit out betting the Clash. Wait until the Daytona 500 in two weeks.

No. 7 Arizona beat No. 3 UCLA 76-66 in a matchup of top-10 teams. Arizona covered a 6.5-point spread and the game went under the 148.5 total. No. 2 Gonzaga covered a 23.5-point spread in a 92-62 win over San Diego and Arizona State covered against No. 19 USC by half a point in a 58-53 Trojans win.

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The Daily Sweat: The Cavs and Hornets have been fantastic against the spread so far - Yahoo Sports