NBA Free Pick : Washington at Cleveland 3/4 ESPN
HRWager’s NBA Free Pick focuses on the train derailing in Cleveland. A coaching change in mid stream proved to be distracting but not enough for the 42-17 Cavs to fall from the top spot in the East. Now comes rumor and innuendo from Miami on how LeBron chooses to spend his free time. Find out what happened and if it at all could prove to be pivotal on an early -8 point spread on the home team here.
NBA Free Pick : My Free Time
Of all the locales in the world that Cleveland fans do not want to see their King jet off to, Miami is at the top of the list. They lost him once to the Heat in pursuit of rings. Now LeBron can opt out of his contract after this year only adds to the nervousness of him visiting his friend Dwayne Wade this week. Not only that but they choose to hone each other’s skills while he was down there. To address this, LeBron fired off a series of Tweets that could be read many different ways. Is it appropriate that a team from the #1 seed works out with a potential #4 seed in the East when they could meet in the second round? James thinks there is nothing wrong with this.
Immediate Task at Hand
So what effect will it have on the Cavs tonight? This is the one team that you have to gauge the waters with constantly. They know they are the class of the East so effort is always up and down with them in the regular season. Now that the agenda of getting rid of David Blatt is complete, how do they come out against a 30-30 Wizards team clawing to get that eight spot? We were witness to Washington winning less than a week ago 113-90 against Cleveland with LeBron taking the night off. The best way to gauge the mood of the team is to read their local papers and listen to Sports Talk Radio in Cleveland to see the mood of the Cavs going in.
Local pressure is mounting from the Cleveland media in this one. Kryie is getting skewered from lack of defensive effort. Writers are giving Lue a “D” since he took over as coach. Love is out of position on the floor. Even with LeBron playing it off, he does not want to keep hearing this. This is the game where Cleveland will exert their muscle and seek to dominate the opposition. -8 is not enough when the Cavs seek a complete game. HRWager’s NBA Free Pick are the Cavs -8. Enjoy the game at 8PM tonight on ESPN and we will see you tomorrow here at the HRW.