Cleveland Cavaliers vs Brooklyn Nets Preview and Prediction - Oct. 24 | 2025-26 NBA Season

The Cleveland Cavaliers vs Brooklyn Nets matchup is one of 12 games scheduled for Friday. Both teams are coming off losses in their season-openers and will look to get on the win column.

The two Eastern Conference teams have faced each other in 199 regular-season games so far, with Cleveland holding a 114-85 advantage. They played four times last season, as the Cavs swept the series 4-0 on their way to the best regular-season record in the East.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Brooklyn Nets Preview, Odds, Betting Tips and Prediction

Money line: Cavaliers -762, Nets +658

Spread: Cavaliers -12.5 (-112), Nets +12.5 (+102)

Total over/under (o/u): Cavaliers o228.5 (-108), Nets u228.5 (-101)

Editor's note: The odds could change close to the game. The odds listed were as per available information at the time of writing.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Brooklyn Nets Preview

The Cavaliers had a great regular season in 2024-25 as they marched to a 64-18 record and finished atop the Eastern Conference standings. While they eventually lost 4-1 to the Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals, they had a lot of positives to build upon.

Cleveland opened its season with a 119-111 loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday. It trailed 65-50 at the end of the half but mounted a great comeback in the third quarter to tie the game 87-87 at the end of the penultimate period. The Cavs couldn’t keep up the fight in the final period and dropped the season opener.

Donovan Mitchell led the team with 31 points, while Evan Mobley had 22 points.

Darius Garland (toe) and Max Strus (foot) continue to be sidelined, while De’Andre Hunter (knee) is questionable for Friday’s game.

The Nets are coming off of a 136-117 hammering against the Charlotte Hornets. Critics didn’t expect Brooklyn to be great this season and the performance only seemed to only justify those claims.

Nic Claxton led the team with 17 points, while Cam Thomas, Terance Mann and Michael Porter Jr. had 15, 13 and 12 points, respectively. Drake Powell (ankle), Danny Wolf (ankle) and Haywood Highsmith (knee) are ruled out.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Brooklyn Nets Starting 5s

Cavaliers

PG - Donovan Mitchell, SG - Sam Merrill, SF - Jaylon Tyson, PF - Evan Mobley, C - Jarrett Allen

Nets

PG - Ben Saraf, SG - Cam Thomas, SF - Terance Mann, PF - Michael Porter Jr., C - Nic Claxton

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Brooklyn Nets Betting Tips

Donovan Mitchell is favored to score under 27.5 points.

Meanwhile, Terance Mann is favored to score over 6.5 points.

Nic Claxton is favored to have under 2.5 assists.

Editor's note: The odds could change close to the game. The odds listed were as per available information at the time of writing.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Brooklyn Nets Prediction and Betting Tips

The oddsmakers favor the Cavs to get a lopsided win on the road. We expect the same, as Cleveland should get its first win of the season while covering the spread against a lackluster Brooklyn roster. This should be a high-scoring game with the team total going past 228.5 points.