NBA : Cavs Prepare for Rolling OKC Thunder

The Cleveland Cavaliers still have the best record in the Eastern Conference, but they haven’t done very well against the NBA odds this year – certainly not as well as the Oklahoma City Thunder. Even without Kevin Durant, the Thunder are holding steady in the Western standings, and they’ll get a crack at the Cavs this Thursday night (8 PM ET, TNT) at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

There was talk that the Cavaliers were interested in doing some more wheeling and dealing after a difficult January that saw them go 7-8 SU and just 3-12 ATS. They might not be entirely happy with their roster, but they did manage to beat Oklahoma City 107-91 two Sundays ago, cashing in as 8-point home favourites on the closing line.

Things have otherwise gone quite well for the Thunder this year. Star point guard Russell Westbrook (+14.1 BPM) is well on his way to being named league MVP for the first time. However, centre Enes Kanter (0.0 BPM) broke his forearm while punching a chair on the sidelines and will miss the next two months of action. Kanter is OKC’s No. 2 scoring threat behind Westbrook at 24.0 points per 36 minutes.

NBA Odds: Kanter Leaves OKC in Bind Versus Cavaliers

The Oklahoma City have been profitable this year without Kevin Durant in the lineup, but losing Enes Kanter to a broken forearm might be too much to overcome when they host the defending-champion Cleveland Cavaliers this Thursday (8 PM ET, TNT).

Without their big man in the middle, OKC went to Cleveland two weeks ago and lost 107-91 to the Cavs as 8-point road dogs. It was one of the few bright spots for the champs in January; they went 7-8 SU and 3-12 ATS on the month, leaving their fans (and LeBron James) clamoring for reinforcements.