The Cavaliers and Magic will tip off their first-round series on Saturday at 1:00 PM ET from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. ESPN is carrying the game on TV, and the Cavaliers are the 4.5-point favorites at home. The over/under line is sitting at 207.5 points, and the money line odds are -199 for the Cavaliers and +164 for the Magic.

ORLANDO MAGIC VS CLEVELAND CAVALIERS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers -4.5

This game will be played at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse at 1:00 ET on Saturday, April 20th.

WHY BET THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS:

  • We have this one finishing with a projected score of 117-107 in favor of the Cavaliers.
  • Our projections have Donovan Mitchell finishing with Donovan Mitchell points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
  • From the field, we have the Cavaliers finishing with a field goal percentage of 48.2% and knocking down 17 threes.

Can the Magic Pull the Upset on the Road?

The Magic are 18-23 straight up on the road this season and 23-18 against the spread. Currently, they are 17th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 47-35.

As the underdog, the Magic are 25-19 against the spread with an average scoring differential of -3.5 points per game. Today, they are getting 4.5 points on the spread.

Orlando’s most recent game was a 113-88 win over the Bucks. They covered the spread as 5.5-point favorites and the O/U line was 215.

This season, Orlando has gone 38-44 on the over/under with an average O/U line of 221.2. In 76 of their games, the over/under line has been higher than today’s line of 207.5.

The Magic’s road games have averaged a scoring total of 218.9 points per game, which is 3.6 points higher than today’s line. In their last four road games, they are 0-4 against the spread.

Orlando comes into the game as the league’s top team in free-throw attempts, averaging 24.4 per game. Their free-throw shooting percentage of 76.2% is 6th best in the league. In terms of field goal percentage, the Magic are 14th in the league at 47%. The Magic are 26th in pace this season, averaging 96.6 possessions per game.

Paolo Banchero is averaging 22.6 points per game over his last five games. Jalen Suggs is at 16.4 points per game in his last five games, and he shot 53.8% from the field in that stretch. Franz Wagner is averaging 21.7 points per game over his last three games. Looking at Suggs’ three-point shooting, he is averaging 2 made threes per game on a three-point shooting percentage of 39.7%.

The Magic’s defense is presently ranked 5th in the league, allowing an average of 108.4 points per contest. When it comes to defending inside the arc, the Magic squad is permitting opposing teams to shoot at a clip of 54.7% inside the arc, and they’re also giving up 35.7% from downtown.

Can Cleveland Secure a Home Victory?

Today, the Cavaliers are favored by 4.5 points at home against the Magic. This season, they have been favored in 53 of their 82 games and have a record of 37-16 as the favorite. As the favorite, they have gone 24-28 against the spread, with an average scoring margin of +6.6 points per game.

In their last game, the Cavaliers were favored by 14.5 points against the Hornets, but they lost the game by a score of 120-110. The O/U line for that game was 209 points, and the teams combined for 230 points.

The Cavaliers are 4th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 48-34. Against other Eastern Conference teams, they are 31-21 and 11-5 in their division. In non-conference games, they are 17-13.

This season, the Cavaliers have an O/U record of 41-40-1, and the over has hit in their last two games. On average, their games have finished with 222.9 points, and today’s O/U line is set at 207.5.

Cleveland is 20th in scoring this season, at 112.6 points per game. Their production at home is slightly better, at 114.5 points per contest. This is the 17th best mark in the league. The Cavaliers are also in the bottom half of the league in pace, averaging 97 possessions per contest.

Jarrett Allen has averaged 17.6 points per game over his last five games while hitting 67.2% of his shots from the field. In these games, he also pulled down 10.4 rebounds. Over his last four games, Darius Garland has averaged 21.5 points and 5.8 assists. For the season, Donovan Mitchell is averaging 26.6 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.1 rebounds.

On defense, the Cavaliers come into the game ranked 8th in the league in points allowed at 110.2 per game. Over their last three games, the team is allowing 112.7 points per contest (18th). In terms of two point field goal attempts, the Cavaliers defense has allowed a shooting percentage of 52.4% while allowing 37.0% from downtown.