The Cleveland Cavaliers go for their second straight win when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday. Cleveland had its 13-game winning streak snapped last week by Indiana, but started a new one with Saturday's 105-98 victory over Philadelphia. The Hawks, led by Dennis Schroder, will have their hands full in a 7 p.m. ET matchup.
The Cavaliers are 11.5-point favorites, up sightly from an 11-point open. The over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 217, down from the open of 218.5.
Before picking either side, you need to read what the SportsLine Projection Model has come up with. This model would have won over 96 percent of CBS Sports NFL office pools last season and has put together a blistering 34-18 run on its top-rated point-spread picks this season, returning over $1,400 to $100 bettors.
Now, the model has simulated Hawks-Cavaliers 10,000 times and locked in against-the-spread, over-under and money-line picks.
We can tell you that the computer has the under hitting in 68 percent of simulations. It also has a very strong pick for one side of this game against the spread.
Cleveland, with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 19-8, has rebounded after a slow start. The Cavaliers have won 14 of their past 15.
Big man Tristan Thompson is expected to be back in uniform for the Cavs. He has been out since Nov. 1 with a strained calf. Forward Kevin Love is also questionable with a sore hip and did not play against the Sixers.
The Hawks are coming off a 111-107 loss at the Knicks on Sunday. Atlanta is 6-20 on the season and 3-11 on the road. Schroder leads the team in scoring at 20.4 points per game and dishes out 6.4 assists.
Forward Taurean Prince is averaging 12.6 ppg and 5.3 rpg and Kent Bazemore averages 12.1 points and 3.6 assists.
LeBron James leads the Cavaliers in scoring (28.3 points) and is shooting an impressive 42 percent from beyond the arc. He's also averaging 8.3 rebounds and is tops on the team with 8.7 assists.
Long-range sniper Kyle Korver remains a valuable bench asset who's shooting 43 percent on 3-pointers.
Does Cleveland make it two in a row led by MVP candidate James or will Atlanta pull off the monster upset, or at least keep it within the spread? The SportsLine Projection Model's picks are in.
So what side of Hawks-Cavaliers do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong point-spread pick for Hawks-Cavaliers, all from the model that has absolutely crushed the NBA, and find out.
