Lakers at Cavaliers: Odds, Picks & Best Bets

LeBron James has been a member of the Lakers for as long as he was with the Cavaliers yet it’s still a homecoming when he returns. James makes his only regular season visit to Cleveland when the clubs meet on Wednesday. The Lakers opened a season-long 8-game road trip with wins in 2 of their first 3 games.

The Cavs had 2 double-digit winning streaks last season and they matched their second longest of this season beating Orlando on Saturday for their third straight. Donovan Mitchell was a major part of that streak averaging 31 points in 3 games.

Lakers at Cavaliers Preview

Tipoff for the NBA matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 from Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Public Betting Odds Factors

Since the start of January the Lakers are a sub-.500 team going 12-13 in that span. Up until that point they looked like one of the top teams in the NBA winning 15 of their first 19 games. They countered a recent stretch of 5 losses in six games by winning 3 of their last 4, including 2 on this road trip.

It’s hard enough playing a few games on a road trip. The Lakers are in the middle of an 8-game, 2-week trip that has to be weighing on them about now. They have a better record in away games than they do at home going 15-9 following Saturday’s 116-110 win over Dallas. They covered in that game moving to 13-11 against the NBA spread on the road.

The Lakers are in need of a stabilizing force and Austin Reaves could be the piece. Out since Christmas with a calf injury, Reaves is nearing a return with coach J.J. Redick hinting it could be on this road trip. Reaves averaged 26.6 and the Lakers were 15-8 in games he played.

Luka Doncic has taken over as the face of the Lakers franchise, but James isn’t about to hand over the crown willingly. Doncic scored 33 points and sparked a fourth quarter comeback to beat his former team Dallas. Luka leads the NBA averaging 33.4 points per game.

The Cavs spent last week looking like the team that won 64 games a season ago. A 32-point home loss to OKC might have ticked them off. Since that beating the Cavs won three straight with payouts in 2 of them. Defensive intensity helped them overcome some shaky shooting.

For the third time this season the Cavs held an opponent to less than 100 points beating Charlotte 94-87, covering the 1-point spread for their fourth payout in 6 games.

The hot streak took place despite the absence of key contributors Darius Garland and DeAndre Hunter. Both players are expected back soon but their status for this contest is still to be determined.

Lakers at Cavaliers Predictions

It’s been 8 years since James played with the Cavs but he still gets geeked to play his former team. He scored at least 21 points in each of his last three visits home and his performance in the 21-22 season visit was probably his best. James had 38 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in LA’s 131-120 triumph.

With second leading scorer Garland on the shelf since the middle of the month, Mitchell has taken over as the Cavs’ primary scorer. He was that anyway, but it became more evident with Garland’s 18 points per game on the bench. Mitchell averages 29.1 points and the second-most 3-pointers made per game with 3.8.

Lakers at Cavaliers Betting Tips

The Lakers have played strong defense in their run of 3 wins in 4 games allowing an average of 105.5 points and cashing the UNDER on the NBA betting line in all 4. That’s the exception, though, since LA surrenders 116.5 points on average. For the season the OVER is 25-19.