Steve Merril's NBA Fullcourt Report (Feb. 02)

The NBA takes center stage with a pair of nationally televised games on Thursday night. Two of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference face off when Cleveland visits Miami. Meanwhile, the defending World Champion Spurs visit a young, but talented Golden State squad. Below is a look at both TNT matchups this evening. CLEVELAND at MIAMI (-7, 198) (TNT) The Cavaliers have been a very streaky team this season, both good and bad. They started the year 9-2 ATS and then went just 1-8 ATS. That was followed by an 8-1 ATS run and then a recent 2-6 ATS slide. The Cavaliers are once again heating up as they entered last night on a 6-0 SU (5-0-1 ATS) run. Cleveland extended their straight-up win streak to seven games, but finally failed to get the pointspread cover by a single point, winning 91-85 as a 7-point home favorite. LeBron James led the way with a triple-double as he tallied 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists versus the Nets. The win improved Cleveland's home record to 17-5 SU this season, but the Cavaliers have been weaker on the road, going just 10-12 SU. Cleveland has also struggled against superior teams with a 4-7 ATS underdog mark, compared to a 21-10 ATS record as a pointspread favorite. However, Cleveland has gone 4-2 ATS in their past six underdog roles. Miami was embarrassed in the first head-to-head meeting on December 15th when Cleveland won 115-107 as a 1