Cleveland Cavaliers vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 3/26/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Friday, March 26, 2021

Location: STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (+3.5)

STAPLES Center is the venue where and the Los Angeles Lakers (28-16) will play the Cleveland Cavaliers (17-27) on Friday. Cleveland opens this contest as 3.5-point underdogs. The total is set at 223.

The Cleveland Cavaliers took the court against the Chicago Bulls and earned the victory with a final of 103-94 in their last game. Cleveland walked away from the game with a 45.2% field goal percentage (42 of 93) and knocked down 11 of 30 3-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Cavaliers converted 8 of 10 shots for a rate of 80.0%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they compiled 46 with 12 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 28 assists in the game as well as forcing 15 turnovers and earning 8 steals. In reference to defense, Cleveland allowed 44.6% from the field on 37 of 83 shooting. Chicago doled out 21 dimes and had 6 steals in this contest. Furthermore, Chicago totaled 45 rebounds (10 offensive, 35 defensive) and added 7 blocks. Chicago finished the contest at 85.7% when shooting free throws by making 12 of their 14 attempts. They made 8 out of their 28 shots from 3-point land.

Darius Garland is a guy who was a factor for the matchup. He scored 22 points on 8 of 20 shooting. He played 36:45 mins and also grabbed 4 rebounds. Garland finished the game shooting 40.0% from the floor and also totaled 9 assists. One more player that came through in this game for the Cavaliers was Jarrett Allen. He snagged 9 rebounds in 34:32 min on the court. He finished 75.0% from the field in the matchup by hitting 9-of-12 (19 points). In all, Allen accounted for 1 assist.

Cleveland will play this contest with a record of 17-27 so far this year. The Cavaliers are shooting 34.2% from downtown (415 of 1,213) and 72.9% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 104.0 points per outing (30th in the NBA) while hitting 45.2% from the field. They cough up possession 15.7 times per contest and as a unit they commit 19.0 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, Cleveland is pulling down 43.4 boards per game and has totaled 1,024 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 21st in basketball in terms of passing the ball. On the defensive end, the Cavaliers are able to force 15.3 turnovers per game while drawing 20.2 fouls. They are 15th in basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 1,062 conceded on the season. The Cavaliers defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 47.8% (675 of 889) and they surrender 43.7 rebounds per game as a squad. They give up 38.8% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 16th in the NBA in opponents points per game (111.5).

The last time they took the court, the Los Angeles Lakers went home defeated by a final of 128-111 against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Lakers earned 28 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 34 in this matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 13 times, while recording 10 steals in this matchup. The Pelicans were called for 24 personal fouls for the contest which got the Lakers to the free throw line for a total of 30 attempts. They were able to make 21 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 70.0%. In the matter of shooting from 3-point land, Los Angeles converted 18 out of their 37 tries (48.6%). In all, the Lakers finished the game shooting 36 out of 85 from the field which gave them a rate of 42.4%. The Lakers allowed the Pelicans to convert 47 of their 90 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.2% for this contest. They went 34.5% from distance via 10 out of 29 and finished the contest at 24 of 26 at the free throw line (92.3%). When talking about rebounding, Los Angeles permitted New Orleans to pull down 53 in total (11 offensive).

Kyle Kuzma was important for the Lakers in this game. He converted 6 out of 14 in the game for a field goal rate of 42.9%, and tallied 10 rebounds. Kuzma earned 16 points in his 33:46 mins on the hardwood and had 7 dimes in the matchup. Someone else that ended up playing a role for Los Angeles was Markieff Morris. He walked away with 1 assist in his 27:05 mins on the hardwood, and he shot 6 out of 14 from the floor. Morris wrapped this one up going 42.9% from the field and also totaling 16 points and 5 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a mark of 28-16 on the campaign. Los Angeles has totaled 4,906 points this season (111.5 per contest) and they pull in 45.2 boards per game. The Lakers have committed 18.9 personal fouls per game and they shoot 74.6% from the charity stripe. When it comes to executing on offense, the Lakers are hitting on 48.1% from the field, which ranks them 7th in basketball. Their rate of earning assists is at 24.7 times per contest (16th in the league) and they turn the ball over 14.9 times per contest. The Lakers on defense are ranked 2nd in the league in PPG allowed with 106.7. The Los Angeles defense gives up 35.1% on shots from beyond the arc (507 of 1,443) and opponents are converting on 76.5% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 25.2 dimes and 41.9 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 19th and 4th in basketball. They are forcing their opponents into 14.6 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 45.5% from the field (7th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Cleveland (+3.5)

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