The Brooklyn Nets (0-1) came into the 2025-26 NBA season with the hopes of having a better campaign than they did during the 2024-25 season when they finished with a lowly 26-56 record. Brooklyn did not begin the season with their desired result, but they have a chance to win their first game of the season with a matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers (0-1) and if you’re wondering how you can watch all the action live, you’ve come to the right place!
The Nets are coming off a 136-117 loss at the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday to open the season that did not give Brooklyn fans a reason to be optimistic for the rest of the season. Center Nic Claxton led the Nets in scoring with 17 points while chipping in four rebounds in the losing effort, but Brooklyn could not stop the Hornets from racking up 23 fastbreak points to the Nets’ five points in the category.
The Cavaliers enter this matchup following a 119-111 loss at the New York Knicks on Wednesday in which guard Donovan Mitchell led the team with 31 points and five assists as the starting point guard with Darius Garland out of the lineup as he’s recovering from toe surgery. Garland will be out for Friday’s game at the Nets so Mitchell will have to pick up the offensive slack in the meantime.
The Lines, Courtesy Of BetMGM
Notable Injuries
Nets: OUT: Haywood Highsmith (knee), Drake Powell (ankle), and Danny Wolf (ankle).
Cavaliers: OUT: Darius Garland (toe) and Max Strus (foot). QUESTIONABLE: De’Andre Hunter (knee).
Advice and Prediction
The Nets have plenty of matters to address from their loss at the Hornets as their defense, half-court or in transition, did not show up in any way whatsoever. More to the point, Brooklyn has to figure out how the partnership of Cam Thomas and Michael Porter Jr. is going to work given that both players struggled mightily against the Hornets.
The Cavaliers are considered to be one of the teams in the Eastern Conference that has the chance of representing the conference in the NBA Finals if they can remain relatively healthy. Donovan Mitchell is being tasked with leading a Cavaliers squad through an Eastern Conference that saw a significant shake-up due to injuries and trades, but they are presumably one of the best teams in the league due to their talent and continuity.
It’s still early in the season, but the Nets and Cavaliers are middle-of-the-pack in offensive rating and in pace, while Brooklyn is towards the bottom of the Association in defensive rating. Cleveland is middle-of-the-pack defensively so this matchup could go a number of ways, but the Cavaliers could be missing three rotation players, giving the Nets a better chance of pulling off an upset.
Prediction: Cavaliers 120, Nets 110
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets vs. Cavaliers betting preview: Prediction, point spread, odds
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
