The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to improve to 5-0 on the season and 3-0 during this recent stretch without the services of Evan Mobley when they take on the Houston Rockets as the two-point betting favorites (-110) on the road Wednesday night.
Here's a spread, moneyline, total, and player prop expert pick for this East vs. West showdown at the Toyota Center on January 22, 2025.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Houston Rockets Expert Picks
Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Houston Rockets, 8 p.m. ET
| Team | Spread | Money | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Cavaliers | -2.5 (-110) | -142 | O 231.5 (-110) |
| Houston Rockets | +2.5 (-110) | +120 | U 231.5 (-110) |
Odds as of January 22, 2025 at Sportsbook
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Houston Rockets Expert Picks
Houston Rockets ATS +2.5 (-110), ML (+120)
Not having Mobley in the starting unit has yet to be a deterrent to the league-best 36-6 Cavaliers in 2024-25, as the team is a flawless 4-0 with all four victories coming by an average margin of 15.2 points. The team just completed a blowout win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday afternoon, led by Donovan Mitchell's 33 points in 29 minutes of action. Only one of those aforementioned games were against opposition currently owning a greater than .500 record, though, so the Rockets are an entirely different beast.
Wednesday marks just the fourth time this season that Houston is an underdog at home, having gone 2-1 SU and ATS with wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks. Even so, success has been difficult to come by for the Rockets in their own backyard as of late, as they're just 3-4 SU with just a single cover across their last seven home appearances. As the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference at 28-14, their home and road records are actually identical at 14-7.
The last time these teams squared off was on March 16 of last year, and conveniently enough, Mobley was also sidelined for that clash as Houston cruised to a 14-point win in the Lone Star State. There's obviously been a coaching change in Cleveland since then with Kenny Atkinson now manning the sidelines, but the roster didn't undergo any noticeable changes since then. Even the prior meeting on Dec. 18, 2023 needed to go to overtime to decide a winner.
Cleveland having dropped six games all season makes them an obvious favorite more often than not, and while they've maintained the status quo without Mobley, the Rockets have the weapons across the board to truly push them. Houston also hasn't lost consecutive games all month, and just fell to the Detroit Pistons by 11 points on Monday. There's not going to be too many occasions where taking a team standing across from the Cavaliers at plus money makes a ton of sense, but this is one of them.
OVER 231.5 Total Points (-110)
Only a single Cleveland road outing has reached an UNDER since Nov. 30, which helps explain why it owns what's far and away the best overall record in this market at 28-14. The team is also scoring two more points per 100 possessions than every other team in basketball.
This should be an easy OVER for bettors, even with the Rockets only ranking 16th in offense on their home floor.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Houston Rockets Player Prop
Donovan Mitchell To Score 30+ Points (+155)
Donovan Mitchell is averaging 31.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in the four games without Mobley this season, with three of the four outings having exceeded the 30-point mark.
He's also pulled that off in each of his last two appearances, as well, having registered 33 and 36 points, respectively. The five-time All-Star guard attempted 52 total shots during those games, which is 20 more than teammate Darius Garland and 36 more than everyone else on the roster.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Houston Rockets Betting Trends
- Jalen Green has exceeded 2.5 3-pointers in eight of his last nine games (4.7 3-pointers/game average).
- Darius Garland has failed to exceed 2.5 3-pointers in eight of his last 10 games on the road (2.2 3-pointers/game average).
- Fred VanVleet has failed to exceed 20.5 points + assists in four of his last five games at home (16 points + assists/game average).
*all betting trends courtesy of Outlier
