Game 1, Second Round — Toronto Raptors vs Cleveland Cavaliers

May 2, 2018 11:10 am

The second round of the NBA playoffs tipped off over the weekend, but the top-seeded Toronto Raptors get this round of hoops going Tuesday when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers. Toronto enters this series tied for the best home record in the NBA, and having that home-court advantage will be more and more important the longer this series goes. Can the Raptors’ depth take down King James and the Cavs?

Let’s take a closer look at where the value’s at in this match.

NBA Odds

Spread

Raptors -6.5: 1.93
Cavaliers +6.5: 1.96

Total

OVER 216.5: 2.10
UNDER 216.5: 1.81

What to Watch For

Toronto’s Youth & Depth: Keep an eye on the production of guys like Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby. These young players for Toronto have been huge for them all season, especially when it comes to their depth being a factor. At the same time, these fairly inexperienced players will be relied upon to contain LeBron James.

Anunoby averages 6 points, 3 rebounds and 1 steal in AccuScore sims for game 1. Siakam finishes with 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.

Betting on the Total: Odds for the OVER — at 2.10 — indicate there’s about a 48 percent chance the total combined score goes over 216.5. The total goes over that number in over 52 percent of simulations, suggesting some value on the OVER.

The average score after 10,000 simulations is 110 – 108, Toronto.

CLE on the Road: The Cavaliers were a .500 team on the road during the regular season.

Betting Trends

Cleveland is 4-1-1 against the spread (ATS) in its last 6 games on the road vs Toronto.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland’s last 7 games on the road vs Toronto.

Projected Leaders

LeBron James is projected to finish with 31 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds, 1 steal and 5 turnovers in Game 1. Kevin Love averages 15 points and 10 rebounds in AccuScore sims.

DeMar DeRozan averages 26 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 3 turnovers in the sims. Second in scoring behind him is Kyle Lowry with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Analyst’s Pick

Cavs cover on the road.

Odds — at 1.96 — indicate there’s about a 51 percent chance the Cavs cover Tuesday night. Cleveland covers a 6.5-point spread in over 61 percent of the simulations, suggesting some added value on the pick. Another three-star (out of four) AccuScore hot trend pick.

Category: Basketball