LeBron James did what LeBron James does, putting together a monster performance in Game 7 against the Pacers to rescue the Cleveland Cavaliers and get them into the second round of the playoffs. It wasn’t easy and now Cleveland must regroup in a hurry as it faces off against the top-seeded Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
These two teams were the favorites to win the East heading into the playoffs and only one will survive to make the conference finals. Even though the Cavaliers have James, the Raptors had the much better regular season and have the home court advantage in the series. Toronto is the favorite to win this series and would love to finally get over the hump and get past James and the Cavs.
The Raptors will get Game 1 at home and are favored. This is a critical game to see if Toronto can live up to the expectations and take early control of this series in NBA basketball odds.
Game 1 of this NBA Playoff Series is on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at 8 p.m. ET at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The contest will be nationally televised on TNT.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
Odds Analysis
The Raptors are listed at -230 favorites to win this series, while the Cavaliers come in as +192 underdogs to pull the upset. It has been exceedingly rare for a James-led team to be an underdog this early in the playoffs but Cleveland has never put it all together this year. The betting public likes Cleveland’s odds in this one as it is getting 77 percent of the early action to move on to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Toronto is a six-point favorite to win Game 1. The vast majority of the early action is on the Raptors to cover that spread. The scoring total is listed at 218 points as the oddsmakers are expecting a high-scoring affair. The Raptors are -265 favorites on the moneyline to capture Game 1, while the Cavaliers are listed as +218 underdogs. Toronto is getting the majority of the action to win the game outright.
Season Series
The Cavaliers and Raptors met three times during the regular season and Cleveland was able to come away with a pair of victories. The first matchup came in January, where Toronto cruised to a 133-99 win. The Raptors used a huge second quarter to grab a big halftime lead and were never threatened after intermission.
The Cavaliers evened the season series in March by picking up a thrilling 132-129 victory behind 35 points and 17 assists from James. Cleveland then clinched the regular season advantage a couple of weeks later by knocking off the Raptors, 112-106.
Cleveland should have some confidence heading into the series by winning the last two over the Raptors in the regular season.
Key Stat
Two. That’s how many years in a row the Cavs have knocked the Raptors out of the playoffs, which will certainly be on the minds of the Toronto players. Cleveland beat the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in four straight games a season ago and knocked them out in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2015-16.
Toronto’s stars, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, will undoubtedly want to prove they can get over the hump this time around, and the Raptors are looking stronger while the Cavs seem more vulnerable.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Cavaliers barely defeated the Pacers to get out of the first round and are now playing a better team. Toronto may not have the same star power as Cleveland but it has the superior depth and the home court advantage in Game 1.
The Raptors are the pick to both win the first matchup as well as cover the spread against an emotionally drained Cavaliers team in NBA basketball wagering. The “under” is the choice on the scoring total.
NBA ATS Pick: Raptors 110, Cavaliers 101
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