Cavs shoot for 10th straight home win vs. Knicks

Basketball Betting Lines

12/03/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are only two teams in the NBA that are undefeated at home this season and the Cleveland Cavaliers are one of them. Tonight they will try to set a franchise record with their 10th straight home win to start a season versus the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Cavaliers have started 9-0 at home on three separate occasions, including back in 1976-77 and again in 1991-92. They are averaging 107.4 points per contest as the host this season and have won five straight overall and 13 of 14, including Saturday's 97-85 victory over Milwaukee at the Bradley Center.

Superstar LeBron James scored 32 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists while Zydrunas Ilgauskas contributed a season-high 23 points and 17 rebounds for the Cavs, who are 14-3 so far in 2008-09.

Portland is the other undefeated team at home this season (7-0). The Cavs will kick off a short two-game residency Wednesday versus New York and Indiana.

New York has been struggling lately, losing three of four and six of its last eight games. In Tuesday's 104-97 setback to the Portland Trail Blazers at Madison Square Garden, Chris Duhon scored a season-high 23 points and dished out 13 assists for the Knicks.

David Lee had 19 points and 12 boards, and Al Harrington finished with 16 points in defeat. The Knicks will try to stop a three-game slide as the visitor tonight in the opener of a short two-game trek and are 2-5 away from Madison Square Garden this season.

The Knicks will also take on the Atlanta Hawks down south. In injury news for New York, guard Nate Robinson is doubtful against Cleveland because of a strained right groin muscle.

Cleveland posted a 119-101 victory over the Knicks at MSG on November 25, as James led seven players in double figures with 26 points. The Cavs have won two straight, three of four and six of the past nine meetings.

New York has lost two in a row and 10 of the previous 13 games as the guest in this series.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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