At times, it looked like neither the Cleveland Cavaliers nor the Orlando Magic wanted to win their playoff series opener. Somehow, the home team managed to escape by winning each of the first five games of the encounter.
Game 6
Cleveland Cavaliers (+142) vs. Orlando Magic (-170)
Spread: Magic -4 | O/U: 200
The members of Bet the EDGE looked back at the series, specifically Friday night's Game 6, on today's episode. Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) and Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) both like game totals under 200, but neither is running to take sides.
“I’m leaning toward the Cavs, so I know it’s hard to point to how far they’ve come in the series and think, oh, yeah, that’s it,” Dincik said. “This series was mostly either a failure for the Magic or a kick in the butt for the Magic. The Magic had a very real chance to take Game 5 and clinch the series in Game 6, but finally Evan Mobley showed up, he was playing, he was alive and he made a great block to score the game-winner for Cleveland. I don't think what we got from Wagner and Jonathan Isaacs offensively was very realistic. Paolo Banchero, who had almost 40 points in Game 5, was a little shaky.”
Bet the Edge is your daily source for sports betting.Get all the insights from Jay Croucher and Drew Dincik weekdays at 6am ET. here it is Or wherever you get your podcasts.
Vaughn agrees with Drew. It's hard to confidently take sides.
“As I said in Games 3 and 4 in Orlando, Cleveland didn't impress me. They shot 23% from three-point range and turned the ball over 29 times. I don't think they're efficient, but Orlando is still young, and they shot 29% from three with 14 turnovers, coming off a one-point loss. You want to control the tempo and pace and play defense. That's why I like the under…but it's too scary to play in a team.”
When pressed to pick a team, players agree that the Cavaliers have more talent.
“Donovan Mitchell is still the best player (in this series) in my opinion, even though he's been on and off with injuries,” Dincik said. “Getting to the free throw line 10 times was very important, even if he couldn't get to the free throw line from three and Darius Garland. It's a sign of life!” Made some great plays…I expect Jarrett Allen to be back. He was the second-best player for the Cavs this playoffs, so I hope he comes back. It would be nice to have an all-out performance for the Cavs, an all-out performance for the Cavs at least once on the road this series. Once it is victorious, we can all take a deep, deep breath. ”
For the full episode and breakdown of this game, as well as more information on Game 6 between Philadelphia and New York and Game 1 between Denver and Minnesota, click here. here.
The first round of the NBA Playoffs is over and it's time to tip off the second round…and have fun sweating it out.
