Bettors Should Hammer the Over on Cavaliers Over/Under Win Total

The NBA is a year-round sport now. Between the draft, free agency, summer league, and the preseason, the "break" between the conclusion of the Finals and the start of the new season flies by in a flash. That sentiment rings especially true for sports bettors missing the action.

With over three months to go until season tip-off, sportsbooks have already released their projected win totals for each team. A lot can change before the campaign begins, so these lines and odds can be extremely volatile. These long-term futures are where bettors can really take advantage, though, if they know what to look for.

For example, the Cleveland Cavaliers' line has been set at 55.5 regular-season wins on DraftKings. This is an easy over bet for me, for a couple of different reasons, and not just because they won 64 games last year.

2 Reasons the Cleveland Cavaliers will surpass 55 wins in the 2025-26 NBA season

1. Weak Eastern Conference

Barring something unforeseen and truly crazy happening, like LeBron James landing on an East team that's not the Cavs, Cleveland is expected to be one of the few true contenders in their conference next season. Most of the competition has dropped out of the race before it even started or has been severely weakened.

The Boston Celtics will be without Jayson Tatum, who's recovering from a ruptured Achilles. They also lost Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet this summer and have done little to replenish their frontcourt depth. Tyrese Haliburton will miss the entire season for the Indiana Pacers, who also had Myles Turner walk away in free agency and replaced him with career backup Jay Huff.

The Milwaukee Bucks added Turner, but lost Damian Lillard and Brook Lopez. The Philadelphia 76ers will be gunning for a return to the playoffs, but Joel Embiid's health and productivity are huge question marks, as are Paul George's remaining effectiveness and their starting power forward spot.

The New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, and Atlanta Hawks are all expected to be competitive, but none of them has the goods to be as dominant in the regular season as the Cavaliers.

2. Draft Incentive to Lose

Not only are there fewer teams expected to be competing for a title next season, but the non-playoff squads will be extra incentivized to lose as many games as they can. That's because the 2026 NBA Draft class has a handful of high-end talents that project to be future All-Stars at the next level.

Kansas's Darryn Peterson, Duke's Cameron Boozer, and BYU's AJ Dybantsa represent a loaded top three that should motivate teams to try to finish in the bottom four of the standings and maximize their chances of landing a generational prospect. Add in Karim Lopez, Jayden Quaintance, Koa Peat, and others, and franchises might do everything they can to avoid the Play-In Tournament to get an outside shot in the lottery instead. That should artificially inflate win totals for the few squads that will be trying to win next year.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.