Two of the NBA's most talented teams will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, when the Cleveland Cavaliers play host to the Houston Rockets in a nationally televised game on ABC. Houston is rolling, having won seven of its past eight to pull within three games of Western Conference-leading Golden State, while Cleveland is coming off a tight 91-89 victory against Miami.
The Rockets opened as a 3.5-point favorite. The Over-Under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, has dropped from an opening of 234 to 231.
Before picking either side of the spread, you need to read what SportsLine NBA expert Galin Dragiev has to say. Dragiev has put together a blistering 20-5 run (80 percent) on his recent NBA point-spread picks.
Before Thursday's Rockets-Spurs contest, Dragiev noted Houston recently had been playing with a slower tempo. Predicting a low-scoring affair, he pounced on the Under (209.5). The result: Houston effectively executed strong half-court sets and rolled to a 102-91 victory, easily clearing the total with 16 points to spare.
We can tell you he's leaning toward the Under in Saturday's contest. And he has locked in a strong ATS pick over at SportsLine.
Dragiev knows Houston is 4-1 against the spread in its past five games in Cleveland, while the Cavaliers are 0-6 ATS in their last six games versus opponents with a winning percentage over .600.
Cleveland's best chance to stay within the spread -- or win outright -- is made more difficult with the loss of Kevin Love (hand). There's only so much LeBron James can do to will his team to victory. He'll need to ensure everybody is involved in the offense early, especially Dwyane Wade, who's expected to play more minutes.
Houston can cover the spread by attacking the Cavaliers in the lane. Cleveland has struggled mightily to slow down big men driving the lane and crashing the boards for easy put-backs. Jae Crowder will be relied on to patrol the rim.
So what side of the Rockets-Cavaliers do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong point-spread pick for Cavs-Rockets, all from an expert on a 20-5 NBA roll.