Cappers Buzz

Below is a free NBA winner for Saturday night.

UNDER 185 (Cavaliers/Pistons) – 7:35 pm ET #704

This line has jumped nearly four full points today because it appears Richard Hamilton will return for the Pistons tonight, but regardless of the lineups this has been an extremely low-scoring series the past two years.

Both meetings have gone Under this season, including the game last week when they combined for just 162 points. The closing total on that game was just 183 points, so tonight’s line has obviously become inflated. The Cavaliers are coming off two high-scoring games, but those were against an uptempo Milwaukee squad and a New Orleans team that has suddenly started to play faster.

In last year’s playoff series, the numbers were around 172 and 173, so there definitely appears to be value here, and defense is still what these two teams hang their hat on. To illustrate the original point about a playoff type atmosphere, Cleveland is 20-11 Under against winning teams this season, and 47-26 Under when playing teams with a winning record during the 2nd half of the season the last three years. Detroit is 19-12 Under against winners on the season, and 52-24 Under when playing against winners during the 2nd half the last three seasons.