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00:00Time to go around the association on this Tuesday night in the NBA, a seven-game slate
00:06that we will preview for you live right here on the Early Line.
00:10Let's start in the Central Division.
00:12Out in the Midwest to Indianapolis we go.
00:15It's the Indiana Pacers, hottest team in the Eastern Conference, winners of six in a row
00:21against the best team in the NBA.
00:23That's the Cleveland Cavaliers, 33-5 is the mark for the Cavs.
00:29And Joe, I do think it bears repeating, 33-5 Cleveland, 22-18 overall for Indiana.
00:37Nearly 40 games for the Cavs, exactly 40 for the Pacers tonight is the midway point of
00:43the year in Indy for this Pacers organization, 41 games, that's halfway through 82.
00:51Maybe as football season nears a close, you are starting to pay more attention to what
00:55is happening in the world of basketball within the association.
00:58Welcome.
00:59We've got a good one for you tonight.
01:01So as the spread looks right now, eight-point spread in favor of the Cavs, total 232 and
01:08a half.
01:09Joe, can Indiana stay in this game and maybe even win its seventh in a row against the
01:13best in the association?
01:15Yeah, probably not, Ben.
01:18A, they just beat the Cavs at home, so kudos to them getting it done.
01:26But it also does look like Halliburton is probably doubtful for tonight's game because
01:31of a hamstring injury, or at least that's what they're saying.
01:36So if I'm the Pacers and I got a back-to-back against the best team in the NBA and certainly
01:41at Eastern Conference, and I've already won that first game on their court, I'm probably
01:46no need to sell out here to try to win a second one.
01:50And it does look like Halliburton, Naismith still out.
01:54No, Halliburton, there can't be any Pacer bet for me.
01:57The reason they've turned it around is because he's actually figured out how to shoot again,
02:03and they look a lot closer to that Pacers team from a year ago than anything we saw
02:08early on in the season here.
02:10Huge 15-point win for the Pacers on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland, outright as nearly
02:16a nine-and-a-half-point underdog to make it six wins in a row for Indiana and stop what
02:23the Cavs had rolling, a very long win streak for Cleveland as well.
02:27You're going to find many long win streaks for the Cavs when they have won 33 of 38 available
02:33games this season.
02:34They have also been booked as a favorite 35 times in 38 games.
02:40They are 23-12 against the number.
02:43They are 26-12 ATS, that being the Cavaliers this year.
02:48Both the best outright record, Joe, at 33-5, and cover percentage at 26-12 against the
02:55number this year for the Cavaliers.
02:58The best team out in the Western Conference, that's the Oklahoma City Thunder.
03:02Huge matchup between the Cavs and OKC, of course, exactly a week ago that went the way
03:08of the Cavaliers, but OKC still remains that best team out West with the second-best record
03:14in the NBA.
03:1532-6 straight up.
03:19OKC tonight, double-digit favorite on the road in Philly against the 76ers.
03:24Joellen Bede has been ruled out, Joe.
03:26It's why you see an 11-point spread in favor of Oklahoma City.
03:30Yeah, and this will wrap up, I believe, a four-game road trip here for OKC in this one.
03:39And yeah, you know, they've talked a lot.
03:41I'm seeing a lot of quotes out of OKC, Ben, about complacency and making sure that they
03:47take nobody for granted here.
03:52And you know, they're not being reckless about it.
03:54But when you're 32-6, yeah, you know, you don't want all of a sudden to be losers of
04:00four of the last five, and things can spiral out of control, and they know it.
04:05So yeah, they're an 11-and-a-half-point favorite, and I think that number is probably light.
04:11Joellen Bede, Caleb Martin is still questionable.
04:15It's very hard.
04:16I mean, Maxey is going to get his.
04:18Congratulations, but I don't think you're going to be able to compare to what OKC can
04:22put up here.
04:23Yeah, and Joe, it's been a season already for Philadelphia, defined by injury.
04:28Will Joellen Bede ever play again?
04:31I'm saying that facetiously, Jared McCain now ruled out for the remainder of this season
04:35after a sensational start to his rookie campaign in the NBA.
04:40Listen, it's where things are right now for Philadelphia.
04:44OKC has a 32-6 regular season record, but technically has played 39 total games, a loss
04:51in the NBA Cup.
04:52So they've been booked as a favorite 37 of 39 games, only a dog twice, season opener
04:59on the road in Denver, won that game outright, short underdog last week against Cleveland,
05:04lost that game and did not cover.
05:06As a favorite, 24-11-2 against the spread, second best cover percentage booked as the
05:14favorite side this year.
05:16That's darn good.
05:17More on the hardwood next.
05:19We continue the hardwood handicaps here on this Tuesday morning on the early line on
05:24SportsCrit.
05:25A couple more thoughts around the association and then into another marquee night in the
05:31SEC.
05:32But basically, each and every conference night of action is in the Southeastern Conference.
05:38We go back to the NBA, seven-game slate on this Tuesday.
05:43We head now to Dallas, the Mavericks a home underdog, catching 3.5 points against the
05:48Denver Nuggets.
05:49Total stands at 233.
05:52I believe a question of availability will be how this game is played out.
05:58Nikola Jokic has a points prop.
06:01He is out there for Denver.
06:03Still no Luka Doncic for the Mavs, but Kyrie Irving set to be in the lineup tonight, 23
06:09and a hook the number on Kyrie.
06:11Joe, how do you see this game playing out tonight between the Mavs and the Nuggets?
06:15Well, I mean, let's face it.
06:18Denver is, what, seven of the last nine, I think they've won.
06:23This is the second game against Dallas.
06:27And they had no problem handling business last time out.
06:31Again, it's all a matter of the injuries with Dallas.
06:33They've lost six of their last eight and no Doncic, but they haven't had Kyrie.
06:39It's been rough sledding.
06:42It really, really has here.
06:43The idea that they're getting Kyrie back here tonight, I think is great.
06:47But let's not forget Denver missing a pretty big piece for them as well as Aaron Gordon
06:55had been out forever.
06:57And that's a different team without him on the court.
06:59And it does appear, Ben, that he'll be back again.
07:04He missed nine games there, but he was in that game on Sunday, had 13 points, six and
07:10six boards.
07:11I think he's a big part of Denver.
07:13I think Kyrie's not going to be enough for me to sway it to try to take Dallas to get
07:18even here.
07:19I think Denver, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
07:22I ain't getting in front of that train right now.
07:24Honestly, a line that I expected to be a little bit higher than it is.
07:29And only three and a hook in favor of the nugs right now.
07:32To your point, without Luka Doncic, Dallas has lost six of their last eight.
07:38Luka injured, of course, early in the game on Christmas Day.
07:41The Mavs won their first.
07:42Now they have dropped six of their last eight.
07:45First game for Kyrie Irving since New Year's Day, January 1st.
07:49So nearly missing a week and a half or so.
07:52And Joe, for the Mavericks in these six losses, they have not covered once in any of the six
07:58L's.
07:59They have been an underdog five times.
08:01Again, no covers as a dog in those losses.
08:05And in four of the five as a dog, total has stayed under.
08:10Feels like a large hill to climb for the Mavericks, even at home tonight against Denver.
08:14But yet the line works a little bit back to Dallas.