Knicks vs. Cavaliers Prediction, Pick & Odds

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31 October 2023

Knicks vs. Cavaliers Prediction, Pick & Odds

The New York Knicks visit the Cleveland Cavaliers in a battle of EasternConference contenders on Tuesday, and we're making our Knicks vs.Cavaliers prediction based on the best NBA odds.

The New York Knicks and ClevelandCavaliers have each lost two of their first three games this season to set up the potential for a three-game losing skid being handed to the loser of their Halloween encounter.

The Cavs have been without Jarrett Allen,and Darius Garland has been out for two games. Both Allen and Garland are out for Tuesday, with Donovan Mitchell questionable. The shorthanded Cavs will need big minutes from their available players if they hope to defeat a healthy Knicks team with no players on the injury report.

New York was sluggish on offenseagainst the New Orleans Pelicans and Boston Celtics but came away with avictory over the Atlanta Hawks. The team has been healthy from top to bottom. New York took Cleveland down in thefirst round of last year’s Eastern Conference playoffs, but who will win therematch on Tuesday?

Here is our best Knicks vs. Cavaliers prediction and NBA picks (odds via ourbest NBA betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Knicks vs.Cavaliers prediction

Mitchell Robinson to record a double-double (+525 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This one is a long shot, but hear me out.

Robinson appeared in 59 games lastseason. He reached double-digit points just 22 times and recorded only 13double-doubles. He pulled down at least 10 rebounds in 27 contests. Thosearen’t inspiring numbers, but let’s dive in a little deeper.

The Cavs’ defense is not starting theseason out like they were the best unit in the Association a season ago.Cleveland ranks 23rd in paint points allowed (52) after ranking third lastseason (46.3). The Cavs rank 21st in total rebounds allowed (56.3) afterranking fifth a season ago (49.7). Finally, Cleveland’s 115.3 points per gameallowed (20th) is a far cry from the league-low 106.5 they allowed in 2022-23.

What does this mean for MitchRob?Robinson leads the NBA comfortably in offensive rebounds per game at 6.3. Healso ranks sixth in rebound chances at 19.7. He’s in a great position to gobbleup rebounds against a below-average Cavs team missing half of itsdefensive-minded frontcourt. Offensive rebounds could lead to easysecond-chance points, which is why we’re banking on him getting todouble-digits in scoring.

Robinson thrives in the paint, andCleveland is allowing far more points there (and overall) than they did in2022-23. Robinson is averaging a career-low 5.7 points per game through threegames this season, but he’s grabbing a career-best 11.3 boards. I love hisrebounds prop at 9.5, but we can do better than the odds offered for that propand make this a plus-money wager by adding on a bit of extra offense.

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Knicks vs.Cavaliers best odds

Caesars and DraftKings offer this one atsurprisingly short odds, and we can do better at bet365 and FanDuel.

BetMGM isthe only one of our best sports betting apps that doesn’t specifically offer a Robinsondouble-double, but we can get there with a single-game parlay (SGP) of Over 9.5Points and Over 9.5 Rebounds for +525 odds.

Knicksvs. Cavaliers odds

Cleveland opened as 1-point favorites onMonday, but the line moved in favor of the Knicks by as many as five points atour best sports betting sites before settling in at Knicks -2.5. Down Garland and Allen and with Mitchellbanged up, Cleveland will have a tough time winning outright, but homecourtcould be advantageous for the team covering as home dogs.

The Knicks rank 23rd in scoring at 105.7points per game, while the Cavs rank 16th at 110.7. The point total opened at216, fell to as low as 213, and has come back up to 214 or 214.5, depending onthe book.

The Knicks are 1-2 to the Under thisseason, while the Cavs are 2-1 to the Over. It’s a small total, but without atleast two key players in the rotation, offense may be more difficult to come byfor the home team.