What number would make you think about betting the Lakers vs the Cavs today?

For me anything above 15 would make me interested but if the line is 12 or lower then there's no way I would bet it, Just could not trust this Lakers side to cover that.

over

Not necessarily, If you have a road dog that is completely awful in your opinion and a favourite which is consistent, and you value the spread to be around -17/18, If the line opens at 14.5/15, You are getting royally screwed and therefore over paying for a bad team.

I'm not big on getting overly attached to theories such as big underdogs always cover, or cover better than any other type of play, It's situation, value and trust that I look for, Situation being is the team I'm betting on at the end of a hot run or on the back of a really barren run? therefore I can fade or back either side, Am I getting value in how I'm assessing the line and if I am getting value, Does the team have a half decent coach and or trustworthy momentum, I.e. one or two near covers leading up to my bet or in a fade situation one or two covers which just scraped home the money suggesting that the odds makers have started to get tighter with the teams spreads in order to stop the ATS wins.

The other scenario I like is when a big, play off type team that is underperforming constantly and the market constantly reflects their talent over their performance, That's a great way of fading teams, The other one is when two equally good sides are playing and the favourite is undervalued significantly, I.e  Cleveland home to Golden State, Golden State on a 9 game winning streak,  Cleveland going 5-4 during that period, Instead of being -4 favourites, The Cavs are 1.5/2.

My betting philosophy is based around investing, If a stock does well and there becomes a bear market, The theory is to jump on board but in essence it's not, Otherwise Warren Buffett wouldn't be the billionaire he is.