The Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets will meet in the NBA on Friday night. Both of these teams dropped their first games of the season and will try to bounce back in Brooklyn here. Before this game tips off in New York, you can continue reading to get my thoughts on this game, including my Cavaliers vs Nets prediction.
Our Cavaliers vs Nets Pick
- Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers -12.5
- Confidence: ★★★★☆
Game Snapshot
- Matchup: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Brooklyn Nets
- Date & Time: Friday, October 24, 2025, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
- Broadcast: NBA League Pass
Key Storylines
- The Cavaliers opened the season with an 119-111 loss to the New York Knicks, despite a 31-point effort from Donovan Mitchell and 22 points from Evan Mobley. Cleveland was shorthanded, missing starters Darius Garland and Max Strus and the Cavs will try to bounce back without them here.
- The Nets also began their season with a loss. They gave up 136 points in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Brooklyn is young, inexperienced, and already missing two of its first-round rookies and veteran Haywood Highsmith.
- Cleveland remains one of the elite teams in the East when healthy. Brooklyn is projected to land near the bottom of the standings. Brooklyn will try to shock the Cavs at home in this game.
- This game features the biggest point spread of the night in the NBA. The Cavs are expected to win big and it will be interesting to see if Brooklyn can be competitive with that in mind.
- Both teams struggled on defense and will try to clamp down on that end of the floor to even their record at 1-1.
Head-to-Head & Betting Trends
- In recent meetings, Cleveland has dominated the Nets. The Cavs won nine of their last 10 games against Brooklyn and have gone 6–0 in their last six games on the road against the Nets.
- Both of these teams failed to cover the spread in their season openers.
- Both teams went over the total in their first games of the season.
Best Player Props to Watch
| Player | Prop |
|---|---|
| Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland) | Over 26 points |
| Jarrett Allen (Cleveland) | Over 9.5 rebounds |
| Cam Thomas (Brooklyn) | Over 18.5 points |
Cavaliers vs Nets Model Projection
Score Projection: Cleveland Cavaliers 123 – Brooklyn Nets 108
Win Probability: Cavaliers 78%, Nets 22%
Final Thoughts
Both teams are desperate to bounce back after losing their first games of the season. But I’ll take the Cavs to get into the win column for the first time this year. Cleveland should be able to control the glass in this game, while the outside shooting of Mitchell should help them to create separation here. I’ll lay the points with Cleveland in what should be a lopsided game from Brooklyn.
