{"id":21515,"date":"2026-01-14T11:45:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T11:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bb-auae-prd-ext-blog-01.azurewebsites.net\/?p=21515"},"modified":"2026-01-14T11:46:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T11:46:34","slug":"thursday-nba-tips-maxey-to-go-large-vs-cavs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prdextblog01.bluebet.com.au\/nba\/thursday-nba-tips-maxey-to-go-large-vs-cavs\/","title":{"rendered":"Thursday NBA Tips \u2013 Maxey to go large vs Cavs"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a somewhat underwhelming seven-game slate on Thursday, one matchup stands out. Will the Cavaliers bounce back, or will the Tyrese Maxey-led 76ers be too strong once again on their home floor?<\/span><\/p>\n

Cleveland Cavaliers @ Philadelphia 76ers<\/span><\/h2>\n

Before the season, most would have expected the Cavaliers to sit well ahead of the 76ers by January. Instead, Philadelphia have surprised, while Cleveland have taken a noticeable step back.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite holding a 22\u201319 record, the Cavaliers are a long way off last season\u2019s level and enter this matchup off a shock loss to the Jazz.<\/span><\/p>\n

Philadelphia, meanwhile, have carefully managed Joel Embiid and Paul George throughout the season, with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe instrumental in their early success.<\/span><\/p>\n

LEG 1 – Tyrese Maxey Over 27.5 Points<\/span><\/h3>\n

Averaging 30.9 points per game this season, this shapes as a premium matchup for Tyrese Maxey.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maxey has cleared this line in 11 of his last 14 games, with Cleveland conceding points to point guards at a rate 20% above league average over the past month \u2014 by far the softest matchup in the NBA.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even with Embiid and George both playing, Maxey still averages 29.8 points, so there\u2019s no reason to expect a drop-off here.<\/span><\/p>\n

LEG 2 – Darius Garland 15+ Points<\/span><\/h3>\n

Garland has been quietly consistent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Across his last 15 games, he\u2019s averaging 20.2 points, largely alongside Donovan Mitchell. He\u2019s scored 15+ in 15 of his last 17 outings, and with his usage and shot profile, this line looks very achievable again.<\/span><\/p>\n

LEG 3 – Sam Merrill 10+ Points<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Sam Merrill continues to capitalise on his expanded role for Cleveland.<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s averaging 17.7 points across his last six games and has cemented his place in the Cavaliers\u2019 starting lineup.<\/span><\/p>\n

Merrill has hit double figures in 12 of his last 14 games and has scored at least 14 points in each of his last six.<\/span><\/p>\n

Same Game Multi<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Maxey Over 27.5 Points \/ Garland 15+ Points \/ Merrill 10+ Points = $3.60<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

VALUE BET<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Tyrese Maxey 40+ Points @ $9.25<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

As outlined in Leg 1, the matchup strongly favours Maxey, but this also shapes as a genuine ceiling game.<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s been knocking on the door of a 40-point outing since his last explosion against Atlanta on November 30, including a 38-point performance against Toronto two games ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cleveland concede points to point guards at a rate 20% above league average over the past month \u2014 with the next-worst team sitting at just 9%. With ESPN coverage, this could easily turn into a monster night for Maxey.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a somewhat underwhelming seven-game slate on Thursday, one matchup stands out. Will the Cavaliers bounce back, or will the Tyrese Maxey-led 76ers be too strong once again on their home floor? Cleveland Cavaliers @ Philadelphia 76ers Before the season, most would have expected the Cavaliers to sit well ahead […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":21335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[706],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prdextblog01.bluebet.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prdextblog01.bluebet.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prdextblog01.bluebet.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prdextblog01.bluebet.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prdextblog01.bluebet.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21515"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/prdextblog01.bluebet.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21518,"href":"https:\/\/prdextblog01.bluebet.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21515\/revisions\/21518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prdextblog01.bluebet.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prdextblog01.bluebet.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prdextblog01.bluebet.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prdextblog01.bluebet.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}