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Power forward Kevin Love will return after a one-game absence and the Cleveland Cavaliers look for their sixth victory in seven games when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. Love sat out Thursday's victory over the Los Angeles Lakers due to pain in both knees and he's looking to rebound from an 11-for-42 shooting slump over his last four outings.
Love's shaky play has contributed to the Cavaliers being unable to perform at the level that forward LeBron James is seeking. Cleveland's recent surge has been fueled by point guard Kyrie Irving, who is averaging 24.9 points over the last seven games after scoring 26 during Thursday's 120-108 win over the Lakers. The Clippers have won five of their past seven games as they make a run at catching the third-place Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference playoff race. The contest with the Cavaliers is followed by a five-game road trip that begins in San Antonio and concludes by visiting the Golden State Warriors.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
LINE HISTORY: The spread opened on Saturday afternoon with the Cavaliers pegged as 1.5 point favorites and has held steady. The total hit the board at 207.5 and rose slightly to 208 by Saturday evening.
INJURY REPORT:
Cavaliers - C T. Mozgov (Questionable Sunday, illness)
Clippers - PF L. Mbah a Moute (Questionable Sunday, eye)
SF P. Pierce (Questionable Sunday, toe)
COVERS POWER RANKINGS: Cavaliers (-8.9) - Clippers (-8.8) + home court (-3) = Clippers -2.9
WHAT SHARPS SAY: "Cleveland will be playing an early daytime game on the West Coast after daylight savings time. The Cavaliers have been in California since Wednesday, and they’ve had two days off prior to this game, but this is still a tricky scheduling spot. Los Angeles has alternated wins and losses over their last four games; they won at home in their last game. The Clippers’ defense has allowed 98 points or less in four of their last five home games." - Covers Expert Steve Merril
DANCE TEAM WAR:
- Pick:
- Creighton
- Capper:
- Larry Ness
- Start:
- March 15, 2016 - 9:00 PM
- Offered at:
- 5dimes @ -7 -105 Creighton
- Analysis:
Creighton ranked 32nd by averaging 79.6 PPG, while offensively challenged Alabama avergaes just 66.8...
My free play is on 9:00 ET.
Creighton’s head coach (Greg McDermott) made a point early this season by noting that FIVE of his 13 scholarship players had missed practice with injuries. He even whined about the fact that the injury to Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster (even though he isn’t eligible until next year) took a good practice player off the floor, pitting a roster full of younger newcomers against each other in drills. This year marks the second season since losing 2014 NBA lottery draft pick and current Chicago Bulls forward Doug McDermott for the Bluejays. Last year hardly went well (14-19 / 4-14 in Big East),as just ONE player (Chatman) averaged in double digits at 11.5 PPG.
This year’s team saw eight players in the rotation with FOUR averaging in double digits and a fifth just missing out. Guards Watson (14.2-3.4-6.6) and Zierden (10.2) plus the 6-8 Cole Huff (11.5-4.9), a transfer from Nevada, and the 7-0 Groselle (10.7-5.8) all averaged 10 points or more. Guard Miliken (9.8) just barely missed. Creighton was effective at scoring, ranking 32nd by averaging 79.6 PPG on 46.8 percent shooting (42nd). The Bluejays take an 18-14 record into this NIT, the same as Alabama. However, the Tide are offensively challenged, averaging just 66.8 PPG (307th), as only senior guard Obasohan (17.7-3.8) is much of a scoring threat. The 6-8 Hale (10.8-2.9) is the team's second-leading scorer (but NOT much of a rebounder) and in fact, the 6-7 Norris (7.6 PPG) is the team's leading rebounder on the season averaging only 5.4 per game!
The Bluejays have dropped five of their last six contests coming into this game but Creighton has owned a STRONG home court for years, long before McDermott and Son (coach & player) arrived. In fact, prior to last year’s 9-8 home record, Creighton was 139-18 SU at home the previous NINE seasons. This year’s team rebounded to go 12-5 SU at CenturyLink Center, going 10-6 ATS in lined home games while outscoring opponents on average, 82.6-to-68.9 PPG. Lay it!
Good luck...Larry
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