Cleveland Cavaliers vs Brooklyn Nets Prediction, 3/1/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Brooklyn Nets

Date: Sunday, March 1, 2026

Location: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY

TV: YES

Barclays Center is where the Brooklyn Nets (15-44) will compete against the Cleveland Cavaliers (37-24) on Sunday.

The Cavaliers took the court against the Pistons and took a loss by a final of 122-119 in their last game. Cleveland wrapped up the contest with a 45.7% FG percentage (43 out of 94) and knocked down 13 out of their 35 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Cavaliers converted 20 of their 27 shots for a rate of 74.1%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 41 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 32 assists for the game in addition to forcing 16 turnovers and getting 10 steals. With respect to defending, Cleveland allowed the other team to go 46.0% from the field on 46 of 100 shooting. Detroit recorded 26 assists and had 14 steals for the matchup. In addition, Detroit pulled down 56 rebounds (21 offensive, 35 defensive) and added 9 blocks. Detroit walked away from this one shooting 72.7% at the free throw line by making 24 of 33 attempts. They converted 6 of 27 attempts from distance. In the matter of personal fouls, the Cavaliers ended up walking away with 24 while the Pistons had 27 personal fouls.

Jarrett Allen is one guy who was a major contributor in this contest. He ended up scoring 25 points on 10 of 12 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 31 minutes and totaled 9 rebounds. Allen shot 83.3% from the field and totaled 4 assists.

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Cleveland comes into this matchup with a record of 37-24 so far this year. They currently have an average of 119.4 points per contest (4th in the NBA) while shooting 47.6% from the floor. The Cavaliers are shooting 35.8% from downtown (882 of 2,463) and 78.1% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Cleveland is pulling down 44.6 boards per contest and has earned 1,736 assists this year, which has them ranked 3rd in the league in terms of passing the rock. They turn the ball over 14.4 times per contest and as a group they are committing 19.8 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Cavaliers have forced 15.8 turnovers per game and they draw 20.3 fouls. They relinquish 37.0% from 3-point land and they are ranked 14th in the league in PPG from their opponents (115.2). The Cavaliers defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.1% (2,520 of 5,469) and they relinquish 43.9 boards per game as a group. They are 24th in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,630 conceded for the campaign.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Nets went home defeated by a final of 148-111 when they faced the Celtics. Regarding attacking the glass, Brooklyn allowed Boston to pull down 39 in total (7 offensive). They finished shooting 64.7% from behind the 3-point line by going 22 out of 34 and ended up shooting 22 of 27 at the free throw line (81.5%). The Nets allowed the Celtics to make 52 out of 78 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 66.7% in the game. When the final whistle was blown, the Nets shot 43 out of 88 from the floor which gave them a rate of 48.9%. When discussing shooting from beyond the arc, Brooklyn converted 14 of 34 tries (41.2%). They were able to knock down 11 of those for a rate of 68.8%. The Celtics committed 17 fouls for the matchup which took the Nets to the free throw line for a total of 16 shots. They turned the ball over 12 times, while recording 7 steals in the matchup. The Nets were able to snag 16 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 25 in the game.

Michael Porter Jr. ended up being important for the Nets for this game. Porter tallied 18 points in his 26 mins on the hardwood and added 2 dimes for the contest. He converted 6 out of 12 for this contest for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and earned 2 rebounds.

Brooklyn has a win-loss record of 15-44 for the year. The Nets are committing 20.2 fouls per contest and they hit 77.1% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 25.5 times per contest (19th in basketball) and they turn it over 15.5 times per contest. Brooklyn has accounted for 6,315 pts on the year (107.0 per game) and they pull in 40.2 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Nets are shooting 44.5% from the floor, which is 30th in the NBA.

The Brooklyn defense allows 37.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (742 of 1,957) and opponents are making 78.6% of their free throw shots. They concede 27.6 assists and 43.0 boards per contest, ranking them 24th and 9th in the NBA. The Nets are ranked 15th in basketball in points given up per game with 115.6. They are forcing their opponents into 13.8 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 49.6% from the floor (29th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Brooklyn

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