Tag: NBA Playoffs

Cleveland Cavaliers at Orlando Magic Game 3 odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Thursday’s Cleveland Cavaliers at Orlando Magic odds and lines, with NBA expert picks, predictions and best bets.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic meet in Game 3 of a best-of-7 Eastern Conference 1st-round series on Thursday. Tip-off at Kia Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (NBA TV). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Cavaliers vs. Magic odds and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.

Season series: Cavaliers lead 2-0

The Cavaliers won and covered a pair of low-scoring games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland to open the series, covering both games as a 5.5-point favorite as the Under cashed in each outing.

Cleveland posted a 96-86 win in Game 2, covering from early in the 2nd quarter through the end of the game. The Cavaliers led 58-44 at halftime, but we ended up with just 80 combined points in the 2nd half for the easy Under (205) result.

The Cavs had 6 different players strike for at least one 3-pointer, led by Darius Garland with 4 successful makes on 7 tries. Donovan Mitchell led the team with 23 points, while Jarrett Allen went for 16 points and amazing 20 rebounds with 3 blocked shots and 2 steals.

Cleveland has won 8 of the past 10 meetings since Oct. 26, 2022, and the Cavaliers are an impressive 7-2-1 against the spread (ATS) in that span. The Under has cashed in both of the playoff games, while the total has gone low at a 6-4 pace in that 10-game span.

Cavaliers at Magic odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:36 a.m. ET.

  • Moneyline (ML): Cavaliers +105 (bet $100 to win $105) | Magic -130 (bet $130 to win $100)
  • Against the spread: Cavaliers +1.5 (-105) | Magic -1.5 (-115)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 198.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

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Cavaliers at Magic key injuries

Cavaliers

  • G Craig Porter Jr. (ankle) out

Magic

  • G Jalen Suggs (knee) probable

For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.

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Cavaliers at Magic picks and predictions

Prediction

Magic 104, Cavaliers 98

Moneyline

The Magic (-130) are looking to make a series of it, as things shift to Central Florida. Orlando needs the victory in Game 3, or it will be out of the series. It doesn’t make sense to back Orlando on the moneyline, however, as it’s better to back the Magic laying the little bit of points instead.

PASS.

Against the spread

The MAGIC -1.5 (-115) are worth playing, as all they need to do is win by a bucket to get the job done. Orlando won its final 4 games at home, while covering in 3 of those outings.

The teams split each of the games at Kia Center this season, with the Magic posting a 104-94 victory last Dec. 11 as a 2.5-point favorite. Expect Paolo Banchero and the Magic to get the job done.

Over/Under

OVER 198.5 (-110) is worth playing lightly despite the fact we have seen a pair of Under results in this season, with the highest point total coming from the Cavaliers in Game 1 with just 97 points.

Cleveland cashed the Over at a 9-3 pace in the final 12 regular-season games, including 5-2 in the final 7 road contests.

Orlando saw the total go high in 5 of the final 7 games of the regular season, although the Under was a perfect 7-for-7 in the final 7 home outings.

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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Video showed the incredible reaction to Jamal Murray’s Game 2 buzzer-beater from the Nuggets broadcast

Jamal Murray’s buzzer-beater made the Nuggets’ announcers lose their minds.

Any time an NBA team comes back from 20 points down to win on a buzzer-beater, it will understandably have everyone go absolutely wild. The Denver Nuggets’ local broadcasters were no exception to this rule after Jamal Murray hit an iconic game-winning shot to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 on Monday night.

In a new video courtesy of Altitude Sports, the camera is fixated on Nuggets’ play-by-play Chris Marlowe and color analyst Scott Hastings as they watch Murray make his move on (a later frustrated) Anthony Davis. When the ball finally swishes through the hoop, an elated Marlowe and Hastings practically have an out-of-body experience trying to describe the chaotic scene.

Judging by the sheer pandemonium at Denver’s home arena, they weren’t the only ones:

Man, that is special. It is these kinds of legendary moments that make sports worth watching. It is these kinds of legendary moments where even the announcers are utterly flabbergasted at what they just witnessed.

Featured image courtesy of Altitude Sports

Tyrese Haliburton took a brutal shot at the Bucks’ playoff crowd after the Pacers tied the series

Tyrese Haliburton is so unimpressed by Bucks fans.

In a playoff series that has been relegated to NBA TV, it sure seems like the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers are already getting very chippy with each other. And after Indiana tied the series on Tuesday night, star guard Tyrese Haliburton added more fuel to the fire as both teams now shift to Indianapolis for the next two games.

While talking about how excited he is to play in front of a Pacers’ playoff crowd, Haliburton proclaimed that the Milwaukee home postseason crowd has been weaker through two games than a standard Indiana regular-season game.

Oh, man. What a brutal parting shot to Bucks fans after tying the series:

There’s bulletin board material; then there’s throwing a canister of gas on a roaring flame. Haliburton probably just did the latter. I cannot wait for Game 3 of this series on Friday night. Get your popcorn ready, folks.

Magic Johnson was so devastated the Lakers lost to the Nuggets he waited until the next day to tweet about it

Magic Johnson isn’t mad. He’s just disappointed.

Usually, when the Lakers play you can count on Magic Johnson tweeting his thoughts out immediately after the game.

Are the tweets exciting? Nope. Absolutely not. It’s normally just a vanilla tweet with a lukewarm-at-best take attached to it. They’re usually very obvious. Remember that tweet from last year’s NBA Finals when he told us that Nikola Jokic and Jimmy Butler would be there?  Yeah, that was funny. But that’s how he usually tweets.

RELATED: LeBron James and the Lakers complaining about officiating after blowing a 20-point lead is pathetic

Except for last night, anyway. Apparently, after watching the Lakers blow a 20-point lead to the Nuggets on the road, Magic was so devasted he couldn’t even tweet after the game.

He came on Twitter the next day and told us about it.

The Lakers really let Magic down, man. You hate to see it. Unless you’re a Nuggets fan, of course. In that case, you’re probably enjoying every bit of this.

RELATED: Anthony Davis was so salty about Jamal Murray’s game-winning shot

LeBron James and the Lakers complaining about officiating after blowing another lead is pathetic

This is the only thing the Lakers have left against the Nuggets.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Gooood morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for tapping in with us today. We appreciate you.

There’s nothing worse in sports than a sore loser. That’s what LeBron James and the Lakers look like today.

The Nuggets evaporated another double-digit lead behind a 20-20-10 triple-double from Nikola Jokic.  Then Jamal Murray sealed the game with an impossible stepback fadeaway over Anthony Davis.

It was absurd, sure. But here’s the thing: The absurdity of it all feels regular. At this point, I guess it is. The Nuggets have beaten this team 10 straight times. They’re just better in every way than the Lakers. It’s very clear.

That’s probably why, instead of just tipping their cap to Denver after a tough win, the Lakers are opting to complain about *checks notes* officiating? Sure. Yup. Ok.

Specifically, James and the Lakers were complaining about an overturned call on Michael Porter Jr. And, to be fair, that foul probably shouldn’t have been overturned! Porter Jr. clips Russell’s face after the ball is released.

But here’s the thing: At that point, the Lakers were nursing a 10-point lead heading into the final quarter. The Lakers still had every opportunity to win this game. No, scratch that. LA should’ve won this game.

But they didn’t. And now, here we are, with two of the team’s biggest stars complaining about officiating instead of just taking the L on the chin.

LeBron James went out of the way to call out officials at the end of his press conference, asking reporters, “What the [expletive] do we have a replay center for?” D’Angelo Russell ran to Twitter to tell everyone he was fouled as if there was something we could do about it.

Look, y’all. This isn’t a 76ers situation where officials missed a few calls at the end of Game 2 that led directly to Philly’s loss. That’s a team with plenty of room to complain.

RELATED: Mike Breen’s call at the end of the 76ers game is fantastic btw

Instead, we’re talking about a play that had no bearing on the game’s final moments. It didn’t matter. There was an entire quarter between that overturned call and the game’s final buzzer. The Lakers still had a lead and lost it.

That’s probably why we’re talking about this — the Lakers just realized there’s nothing they can do here. The reality is the Nuggets are just better. Denver has beaten LA 10 consecutive times in every way possible.

Instead of whining about fouls, maybe the Lakers should think about a way to defend Nikola Jokic a bit better. Because they don’t seem to have much of anything for that guy right now.

And Scott Foster ain’t coming to the rescue.

The saddest QB room ever?

Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

I’ve seen some pretty bad quarterback rooms in my day — especially living here in D.C. and seeing the Commanders up close.

But, man. The Broncos quarterback club might be the saddest one we’ve ever seen when opening weekend rolls around. Christian D’Andrea has more here: 

“The most likely situation is either Denver stands pat at No. 12 and adds a passer there, or trades back to address other needs (there are several) and slides to a place where it’s a little more logical to take a non-top-four QB. Either way, the best rookie for which the Broncos can hope is probably either Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr..

Which means their training camp quarterback room would look like this:

  • Jarrett Stidham (incumbent starter, somehow)
  • Zach Wilson
  • Ben Dinucci
  • Bo Nix/Michael Penix Jr./Rookie QB X
  • the smoking crater Russell Wilson’s $35.4 million in dead salary cap space left behind

Gross! There are other iffy situations across the league. The New England Patriots currently have Bailey Zappe, Jacoby Brissett and Nathan Rourke under contract. The Washington Commanders have Marcus Mariota, Jake Fromm and Jeff Driskel. The Vikings are desperate enough for competence that they staked a $10 million bet on Sam by-god Darnold.

But each of those teams has the draft assets to at least instill some legitimate hope for 2024 and beyond. The Broncos are in worse shape.”

Jarrett Stidham, the incumbent starter? YUCK. Also, who in the world is Ben DiNucci? Definitely sounds like a created player.

Nobody deserves that. Sorry, Broncos fans.

We need reverse ejections in baseball

Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

That’s what should’ve happened to umpire Hunter Wendelstedt during yesterday’s Yankees game. He ejected Aaron Boone for something he didn’t even do.

Here’s Andrew Joseph on that:

“In the first inning of the Yankees’ game against the A’s, Aaron Boone was evidently upset over a lead-off hit by pitch call. And ironically said something to Wendelstedt just as the ump missed a call in the Yankees’ favor.

Wendelstedt warned Boone to stop chirping and threatened him with an ejection. Boone seemed to take the message and stood at the edge of the dugout steps quietly. Yet, Wendelstedt mistook a fan’s heckling for Boone and ejected the Yankees manager anyway. The scene was absolutely wild.”

Wendelstedt literally admits that he doesn’t care what actually happened and that Boone was being ejected regardless.

That’s malpractice. Major League Baseball needs to step in here.

Quick hits: Anthony Davis is mad, too … Six NFL prospects who may not live up to the hype … and more

— WHEW boy the Lakers are upset. Anthony Davis didn’t have too much to say after Murray’s game-winner. Here’s Charles with more.

— Here’s Christian with more on six NFL draft prospects who may not live up to the hype this fall.

— The Nuggets live moneyline ticket is good money right now. Prince Grimes has more.

— Mark Stone’s goal last night has hockey fans kind of salty. Mary Clarke has more on why here.

— Cory Woodroof has five games that defined Matt Ryan’s Falcons career here.

— Cavs-Magic was somehow blacked out and fans were absolutely livid. Tyler Nettuno has more here.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading today. Appreciate you. Have a fantastic Tuesday. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

Cavs and Magic fans were furious that Game 2 of the playoffs was blacked out locally

Fans had a hard time watching Monday’s Game 2 in Cleveland, which was relegated to NBA TV.

The NBA playoffs are here, and fans are excited to watch their teams try to compete for a championship.

But if you cheer for the Cleveland Cavaliers or Orlando Magic, that was a bit harder to do on Monday night. Unlike the other two postseason games on the slate, that game is only carried on NBA TV, which requires a League Pass subscription to watch.

To make matters worse for fans based out of Cleveland, Orlando or the surrounding areas, the game was also blacked out locally. It was only broadcast by the local Bally Sports networks, which is not included in the packages for YouTube TV and several other carriers.

As you can imagine, not being able to watch a playoff game locally was not particularly well received by fans of both teams, who took to social media to voice their frustrations.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla sounded bizarrely excited while describing his reaction to Jayson Tatum’s scary fall

What an extremely weird thing for Joe Mazzulla to say about Jayson Tatum’s scary fall.

The Boston Celtics opened their 2024 NBA playoffs by absolutely pummeling a shorthanded Miami Heat team, who beat them in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. But in the late stages of a sure victory, the Celtics almost faced disaster during a key sequence between their franchise player Jayson Tatum and Miami’s Caleb Martin.

With Tatum trying to secure a harmless defensive rebound, Martin accidentally ran into Tatum in mid-air. That led to the Celtics’ star taking what looked like a serious fall on his back and neck.

Fortunately, Tatum got up immediately and appeared to be OK as Boston breathed a huge sigh of relief:

In the postgame, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had a rather unexpected tenor about the play. Rather than simply saying he was just thankful Tatum was alright before moving on, a seemingly dead-serious Mazzulla almost sounded thrilled that Tatum had an opportunity to … show his toughness after potentially getting seriously injured?

I don’t know, man. That’s the most charitable interpretation I could come up with. This whole below sequence is just so weird to hear from a professional head coach:

Truly, what an irresponsible thing to say.

The Celtics almost saw their season go up in flames with a vulnerable Tatum in mid-air, and Mazzulla stated he barely expressed any concern in the heat of the moment because he wanted to see Tatum’s response. C’mon now. We should be way past this kind of fake tough-guy attitude in professional sports.

Technical difficulties caused ESPN’s broadcast of Cavaliers – Magic to start without any commentary

Okay, this was pretty surreal.

If you tuned in to watch the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic play in their first playoff series game on Saturday, you might’ve noticed something strange on the ESPN broadcast.

Right after the ball tipped off, the ESPN audio commentary feed cut out, leaving viewers with just a live broadcast of the game’s opening moments.

It was a bit surreal to just watch the two teams going back-and-forth playing hoops for a bit before ESPN broadcaster Beth Mowins chimed in after the first couple of minutes to explain to the folks at home there were some technical difficulties on their side of things.

While we’re more than glad the audio feed came back so that the broadcast crew could provide their commentary, it was just fascinating to watch NBA basketball without any sort of announcing or commentating going on and just hear the noises of the game and the cheering in the stands.

This does not happen often, so enjoy one of the mpre unique moments we’re going to get this NBA playoffs.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

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NBA Play-In Tournament: Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Friday’s Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat odds and lines, with NBA expert picks, predictions and best bets.

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The Chicago Bulls (40-43) meet the Miami Heat (46-37) in an NBA Eastern Conference Play-In Game. Tip-off at Kaseya Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Bulls vs. Heat odds and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.

The winner will earn the 8th seed in the East and will face top-seeded Boston in a best-of-7 1st-round series, while the loser will head home for the offseason.

Season series: Tied 2-2

These teams not only split their 4-game regular-season series, but Chicago and Miami each won one on the other’s home court. However, the Bulls hold a 3-1 against-the-spread (ATS) edge in the 4 games. Plus, Chicago has a healthy 6-2 ATS mark in the previous 8 head-to-head meetings, going 3-1 ATS last season, too.

The Over has cashed in each of the past 3 meetings in the series, including both battles in South Florida.

The big news for Miami is on the injury front, as leading scorer F Jimmy Butler (knee) is out indefinitely. Butler was injured in Wednesday’s 105-104 play-in game loss at Philadelphia. He played the final 3 quarters after suffering a knee injury and finished with 19 points. After an MRI Thursday, it was determined he has an injury to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee and he is expected to miss several weeks.

Chicago won 131-116 in its play-in game vs. the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday, cashing as a 3-point favorite as the Over (223) easily connected. The Over has hit in 5 straight games for the Bulls.

Bulls at Heat odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 6:31 p.m. ET.

  • Moneyline (ML): Bulls +105 (bet $100 to win $105) | Heat -130 (bet $130 to win $100)
  • Against the spread: Bulls +2.5 (-115) | Heat -2.5 (-105)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 205.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

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Bulls at Heat key injuries

Bulls

  • G Alex Caruso (ankle) questionable
  • G Ayo Dosunmu (quadriceps) questionable
  • C Andre Drummond (ankle) questionable

Heat

  • F Jimmy Butler (knee) out
  • G Terry Rozier (neck) out

For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.

Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!

Bulls at Heat picks and predictions

Prediction

Bulls 107, Heat 105

Moneyline

The BULLS (+105) are worth a look as short underdogs on the road. First off, Chicago has already won in Miami this season, and the Heat are in a world of hurt after losing Jimmy Buckets to the knee injury.

Chicago looked awfully good taking care of Atlanta at home in the play-in game Wednesday, and the Bulls have won 3 of the past 4 outings.

Against the spread

There isn’t a ton of reason to back the Bulls +2.5 (-115) catching the points, unless you’re absolutely adamant that the Heat will win, but only by 2 points.

Chicago enters on a 4-0 ATS streak, and it has covered 6 of the past 8 meetings against Miami.

PASS.

Over/Under

OVER 205.5 (-110) is a strong play, even if Miami is missing Butler, who tied with G Tyler Herro as the team’s leading scorer at 20.8 points per game.

Miami still has plenty of players like Herro, C Bam Adebayo (19.3 PPG, 10.4 RPB) and F Duncan Robinson (12.9 PPG) to get the job done offensively. The Heat cashed the Over (208.5) against the 76ers Wednesday but just barely — by a hook (a half point). The Over has hit in 3 straight, and 11 of the past 12 games for the Heat since March 29.

For Chicago, the Over (223) was never in question Wednesday against Atlanta, and the total has gone high in 5 straight outings. The Bulls are good for 117 or more points in each game, and 127 or more points in 3 of the past 4, while conceding 116 or more points across 4 of the past 5 contests.

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.

Access more NBA coverage:
HoopsHype | Bulls Wire | Celtics Wire | Nets Wire | Rockets Wire | Sixers Wire | Spurs Wire | Thunder Wire | Warriors Wire | LeBron Wire | Rookie Wire | List Wire

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76ers’ Paul Reed just gave the Knicks unnecessary bulletin-board material

The last thing the tough Knicks need is more motivation.

Everyone knows that, on paper, the New York Knicks are a better matchup for Eastern Conference NBA playoff teams this year than the Boston Celtics. It shouldn’t be controversial to think wanting the 50-win opponent over the one that won 64 games is better for your team’s chances.

But if you’re actually one of the players going up against the Knicks very soon, you probably shouldn’t share these thoughts in public. Oh no.

During Thursday’s episode of Run It Back on FanDuel TV, Philadelphia 76ers backup big man Paul Reed came on the show to discuss his team’s recent play-in win and their upcoming first-round series against the Knicks.

RELATED: For The Win’s 2024 NBA playoffs predictions, from dark horses to the NBA Finals. 

When asked about the 76ers’ play-in thought process in potentially playing the Knicks or Celtics, Reed openly said that the Knicks were the “easier” matchup. Again, that’s probably a true statement. But if you’re someone actually playing against that team, that’s not something you should say on television!

The Knicks are one of the best defensive teams in NBA basketball. They make you work for every single inch for all 48 minutes, and they beat you up in the process while doing it. While yes, the Knicks are likely an easier matchup than the Celtics, you typically don’t want to feed tough-nosed teams like them any bulletin-board material.

Good job to Paul Reed. He may have just motivated the grinding Knicks even more.