Cavaliers vs Rockets Game Breakdown & Projections – Sat, Mar 16th 2024

Hold onto your jerseys, folks, because we’ve got a clash of titans on our hands! The Cleveland Cavaliers, hotter than a summer in Ohio with a 41-25 record, are taking their talents south to the Toyota Center, ready to launch a full-on assault against the Houston Rockets, who are standing their ground at 31-35. As the clock strikes 5PM EST, we’ll be witnessing a showdown that could shake up the conference rankings, with the Cavs just 1.5 games away from the top in the East, and the Rockets trailing by 9 in the West. The bookies are having a field day, setting the over/under at 214.0, favoring the Cavs at -6.0, and giving the Rockets a fighting chance with a line at 6.0. Both teams are riding the wave of recent victories, with the Rockets blasting off a 135-119 win against WAS, and the Cavs steamrolling over NOP with a 116-95 win. So, buckle up for a battle of horsepower versus rocket fuel, and let’s see if the Cavaliers can rocket to the top or if the Rockets can stand tall and show they aren’t just cavalier about their chances!

Game Breakdown

Game Time: March 16, 2024 05:00PM EST

Location: Toyota Center, Houston

Vegas Odds

	CLE ML	HOU ML	Over/Under	Line
Open	-245	+205	215.5	-6.0/6.0
Recent	-160	+135	214.0	-5.0/5.0
Difference	+85	-70	-1.5	–

Team Performance

LAST 10

5W-5L

AWAY

19W-11L

61.5% Win Probability

LAST 10

6W-4L

HOME

21W-11L

38.5% Win Probability

Previous Matchups

Date		Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	OT	Final	O/U
12/18/23	Houston Rockets HOU	34	25	39	24	8	130	Over
12/18/23	Cleveland Cavaliers CLE	33	24	42	23	13	135	Over
03/26/23	Houston Rockets HOU	22	21	37	11		91	Under
03/26/23	Cleveland Cavaliers CLE	33	27	25	23		108	Under
01/26/23	Cleveland Cavaliers CLE	37	37	23	16		113	Under
01/26/23	Houston Rockets HOU	25	23	26	21		95	Under
02/02/22	Cleveland Cavaliers CLE	31	22	30	21		104	Over
02/02/22	Houston Rockets HOU	32	32	26	25		115	Over
12/15/21	Houston Rockets HOU	16	22	25	26		89	Under
12/15/21	Cleveland Cavaliers CLE	35	34	31	24		124	Under

Cavaliers Vs Over/Under

Rockets Vs Over/Under

Cavaliers Recent Games

Date	vsOpp	Result	Reb	Ast	Tov	Shots
03/13	vs NOP	116-95W	46	38	9	92
03/11	@ PHX	111-117L	37	30	12	86
03/10	@ BRO	101-120L	31	25	12	76
03/08	@ MIN	113-104W	46	27	12	90
03/06	vs ATL	101-114L	42	27	13	89
03/05	@ BOS	105-104W	42	28	8	90
03/03	@ NYK	98-107L	39	31	10	87
03/01	vs DET	110-100W	53	25	15	83
02/28	vs CHI	123-105W	39	37	12	96
02/27	@ DAL	121-119W	47	35	16	83

Rockets Recent Games

Date	vsOpp	Result	Reb	Ast	Tov	Shots
03/14	@ WAS	135-119W	47	24	17	87
03/12	vs SAS	103-103L	36	21	12	80
03/10	vs SAC	112-104W	42	23	12	85
03/08	vs POR	123-107W	47	33	7	94
03/06	@ LAC	116-122L	38	33	8	94
03/05	@ SAS	114-101W	51	23	5	107
03/02	vs PHX	118-109W	49	27	12	98
02/29	vs PHX	105-111L	58	14	12	99
02/27	vs OKL	95-112L	46	22	15	96
02/25	@ OKL	110-123L	50	18	18	93

Starting Lineups

Cleveland Cavaliers	Proj	L5	L15	S%	S/DFS
Jarrett Allen C	43.6	43.0	37.6	100%	36.4
Darius Garland PG	35.6	40.6	32.8	100%	31.2
Donovan Mitchell SG	44.7	38.6	48.9	100%	47.4
Isaac Okoro SF	25.8	24.8	20.2	57%	21.8
Dean Wade PF	18.9	18.4	12.8	47%	14.8

Houston Rockets	Proj	L5	L15	S%	S/DFS
Dillon Brooks PF	22.7	16.3	21.0	93%	21.8
Jalen Green SF	38.6	32.5	33.2	93%	33.4
Jabari Smith Jr. C	32.9	28.1	28.8	100%	28.6
Amen Thompson SG	30.5	27.1	25.8	27%	34.9
Fred VanVleet PG	41.6	40.4	36.7	93%	37.5

Cavaliers Notable Injuries

Evan Mobley (PF/C): Avg: 15.6pts, 10.0reb, 3.1ast, 30.7 minutes. Last game: 03/05/24. Impact: 6.3
Max Strus (SG/SF): Avg: 11.9pts, 4.8reb, 3.7ast, 31.7 minutes. Last game: 03/03/24. Impact: 3.8
Emoni Bates (SG/SF): Avg: 2.1pts, 1.1reb, 0.6ast, 7.1 minutes. Last game: 03/10/24. Impact: 0.8
Isaiah Mobley (PF/C): Avg: 1.7pts, 0.8reb, 0.7ast, 6.9 minutes. Last game: 03/13/24. Impact: 1.1
Pete Nance (PF/C): Avg: 0.0pts, 0.3reb, 0.0ast, 2.5 minutes. Last game: 03/10/24. Impact: 0.1

Rockets Notable Injuries

Alperen Sengun (C): Avg: 21.0pts, 9.4reb, 5.0ast, 32.4 minutes. Last game: 03/10/24. Impact: 7.4
Cam Whitmore (SG/SF): Avg: 12.1pts, 3.9reb, 0.5ast, 17.8 minutes. Last game: 03/10/24. Impact: 3.5
Nate Williams (PG): Avg: 2.8pts, 1.1reb, 0.5ast, 6.4 minutes. Last game: 03/14/24. Impact: 0.9

Top Player Props

This article, published more than 6 hours prior to game time, focuses exclusively on Over prop bets due to the propensity for NBA teams to make last-minute injury adjustments. For the most current prop bets, including any updates closer to tip-off, please refer to the link provided below the table.

		Stat				Over %				Opposing Defense/Game
Player	Team	Prop	Line	Proj	Diff	L5	L10	L15	L30	Opp	Stat	Rank
Jarrett Allen	CLE	Pts	16.5	18.8	+2.3	60%	60%	60%	60%	HOU	+3.8	#28
Dillon Brooks	HOU	Pts	11.5	13.0	+1.5	20%	20%	33%	33%	CLE	-3.8	#3
Jabari Smith Jr.	HOU	Reb	8.5	9.4	+0.9	40%	50%	53%	53%	CLE	+1.8	#27
Fred VanVleet	HOU	Reb	3.5	3.9	+0.4	60%	60%	47%	47%	CLE	-0.0	#15

View All Player Prop Projections

Cavaliers Defense vs

Position	Pts	Reb	Ast	Overall	vs NBA
C	#7	#27	#4	#13	-4.0%
PF	#25	#15	#22	#20	5.9%
PG	#7	#3	#8	#4	-15.5%
SF	#3	#19	#5	#4	-14.0%
SG	#15	#15	#12	#16	0.8%

Rockets Defense vs

Position	Pts	Reb	Ast	Overall	vs NBA
C	#28	#26	#27	#29	15.4%
PF	#4	#20	#5	#5	-9.8%
PG	#16	#27	#22	#29	12.1%
SF	#25	#29	#27	#29	18.0%
SG	#13	#17	#1	#9	-6.7%

Team Comparison

Points per Game

109.2

112.5

Rebounds per Game

41.9

46.8

Assists per Game

30.2

24.2

Steals per Game

6.6

8.7

Blocks per Game

5.2

4.8

Shots per Game

85.2

92.5

3-Pointers Made per Game

15.0

12.9

2-Pt Percentage per Game

53.0

50.9

3-Pt Percentage per Game

38.8

34.4

Turnovers per Game

12.0

12.8

Fouls per Game

16.6

19.3

Recent Trends

Max Strus (SG/SF): 3 Game Minutes avg jumped 73.5% to 33.7, 19.4 min average previous 3 games.
Tristan Thompson (C): 3 Game Minutes avg jumped 34.1% to 18.2, 13.5 min average previous 3 games.
Dean Wade (PF/C): 3 Game Minutes avg jumped 60.2% to 28.1, 17.5 min average previous 3 games.