Orlando Magic vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction and Betting Preview
SportsMemo handicapper JM Sports gives his prediction on tonight’s Orlando Magic vs Cleveland Cavaliers showdown on Tuesday, April 5. At the time of posting, the road Cavaliers have opened as an 8.5-point favorite over the home Magic, with the total sitting at 220 points.
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Tuesday, April 5 | NBA Betting Notes |
---|---|
Point Spread: | Orlando Magic +8.5 vs Cleveland Cavaliers |
Total: | 220 Points |
Game Time: | 7:10pm ET / 4:10pm PT |
Arena: | Amway Center in Orlando, FL |
TV: | Bally Sports Ohio |
Orlando Magic vs Cleveland Cavaliers Preview
While this NBA regular season slowly comes to a close, the action is far from over. There are plenty of teams that are still fighting for playoff positioning, or even playoff hopes in general, but few teams have as much to play for at the moment as Cleveland.
Orlando is out of the picture, but Cleveland’s route through the play-offs is still to be determined. The Cavaliers are currently in 7th place in the Eastern Conference, 2.5 GB of Chicago and Toronto, and 1.5 games ahead of Atlanta.
With the new play-off format, the 7th seed would have “home court advantage” throughout a potential play-in run. If they can make-up the 2.5 game difference, they could potentially avoid the play-in all together.
While it seems unlikely that they can avoid the play-in, with just three games left in their season, they must do what ever they can to stay ahead of Atlanta.
Every team would like to avoid a win-or-go home situation, as they would all just like to enter the play-offs freely, but if you are stuck in a situation of that caliber, I find it hard to imagine that any team would want to do it in enemy territory, even if the Cavs are 24-16 on the road this season.
Cavaliers Trying to Get Into Top 6 in East
Cleveland does have the opportunity to end their season on the road in two of the last three games, taking on Orlando in Florida tonight, followed by a trip to Brooklyn to take on the Nets on Friday, before coming back home to close out the season Sunday against Milwaukee.
If you have seen the news recently on the Cavaliers, you know that JD Bickerstaff got fined after his comments directed at the officiating crew after their emotional loss to Philadelphia in their last game, now they are back with a chip on their shoulder and looking to prove that they are capable of making a run in the playoffs.
Cleveland has had their ups and downs this year without question, but they have consistently stayed atop the teams at the bottom of the league, posting a 15-4 record against teams with bad winning percentages (winning 25-40% of their games).
Even without Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the middle, the team has still been able to hold back-to-back opponents under 45% shooting, including Philadelphia who has locked up home court advantage for the 1st round of the postseason.
They are 28-11 this season after allowing < 45% shooting to the opposition (including 14-6 when that games on the road), while winning 15 of the last 20 after holding 2 consecutive opponents under 45% shooting (including cashing in on 9 of the last 10).
Not only did they hold consecutive teams under 45% shooting, they may have split those games straight up, but they covered against the spread (ATS) Philadelphia and New York in the game prior. This season, the Cavaliers are 20-9 following 2 or more consecutive ATS wins.
Cleveland is also 19-9 against teams that are averaging 108 or less PPG on the season, and they are set to put up some big numbers tonight as they are 13-2 as a favorite in the last 15 games after putting up less then 110 points.
With the success that has come Cleveland’s way this season, Bickerstaff and the Cavs have also had their issues.
In all the games Bickerstaff has coached, he is just 11-43 on the road against the money line in the 2nd half of the season when taking on teams that average 23+ assists/game, and in the 2nd half of this season alone, they are 4-10 when taking on teams that average 24 or less free throws per game.
Not to mention, if there is one day of the week that Cleveland would like to avoid playing, it would be Tuesdays. For whatever reason, Bickerstaff is just 3-12 on the road when playing on Tuesday nights in all the games he has coached.
Cleveland has to be dying to see their potential Rookie of the Year, Evan Mobley, and new found staple in the middle, Jarrett Allen, return to action. Yet for now, they need to focus on setting up the most ideal situation for the playoffs, and for the return of these two big men.
Magic Trying to Make Most With Rest of Season
Orlando has more to worry about than the playoff picture at this point. While this team has obviously struggled this season, their talent is young and developing into a team that could potentially become dangerous down the road.
With that in mind, the health of their young players has to be a key focus and they are dealing with a multitude of injuries as this season comes to a close.
Wendell Carter Jr. is out for tonight’s game with a wrist injury, while Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs are both listed as questionable dealing with ankle issues, Admiral Schofield is listed as questionable with a knee injury, and Cole Suggs is also questionable with an undisclosed injury after last game.
The long-term health of these young guys has to come into play as they look towards the future, now that this season is all but over.
The damage has been done this season, the Magic are just 10-29 in front of their home crowd, shooting just barely over 43% and putting up just 103.3 PPG, while allowing over 122 and they’re just 6-26 as an underdog at home, putting up just 101.5 PPG in those 32 games and allowing over 113 points to the opposition.
They are just 2-12 at home against teams with a winning record, and they are coming off a devastating loss against New York, getting blown out by 30 points in Orlando.
Dating back to 1996, Orlando is just 6-21 at home after a loss of 20 or more points on their home court, with a multitude of those games coming in the recent years.
This season alone they are 1-10 at home after a loss by 15+ points, and in the last 2 years they are 1-11 at home after a loss by 20 or more.
The Magic are just 4-18 on their home court after a double digit loss this season (including 3-15 in the L18 games), and they are 5-10 in the last 15 games overall after consecutive double digit losses, although they have managed to win four of the last seven opportunities.
They are also just 2-5 this season after putting up less then 90 points, and they are 7-22 in the last 29 games after allowing over 115 points to their opponent (including 3-13 at home).
While Orlando has lost six straight games, and nine of the last 11, they have had a slightly glimmer of hope when taking on Cleveland.
The Cavaliers did walk away with wins in the last two meetings between these teams, Orlando is 6-2 in the last three seasons and they have won all three meetings in Orlando.
Orlando Magic vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction
At this moment, the Cavaliers are in a situation where they need to win, to solidify the opportunity to play at home for the play-in tournament.
On the other hand, depending on how you look at things.. Orlando may be in the situation where they must lose, they are tied for the lead in one thing, and that is the odds at bringing in the #1 pick next season.
They are tied with Houston for the worst record in the league and with the young, talented core, this Orlando team could be looking forward for the next young piece that could be the difference maker between a lottery team and a playoff team.
With the emotions running high for Cleveland, and the injuries running higher for Orlando, I am siding with the Cavaliers on this one.
Prediction: Cleveland Cavaliers -8.5
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Orlando Magic vs Cleveland Cavaliers Notes from GoldSheet
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