NBA Picks Monday 5/1/2017 – TOR vs. CLE

Pick #1 – Toronto Raptors at Cleveland Cavaliers

The NBA basketball playoffs second round is finally here and tonight we target the Toronto Raptors (55-33) versus the Cleveland Cavaliers (55-31) in what should be an exciting duel between some of the best teams in the league. This pick peaks our interest out the gate as some books OVER/UNDER line opened at 209.5 and we are now seeing it drop down all day to final resting place of a 208.5 over / under line giving us that great first lead into where the smart money is leaning and the UNDER is looking like the choice for this matchup. Investigating deeper into the numbers we see that the total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 7 games and that the total has gone UNDER in 9 of Toronto's last 11 games on the road so we are counting on Toronto in this game to really drain the pace of the game. The season offensive and defensive performance statistics give us averages of 216.42 and 209.23 and it should be the recent trends that really get us to where we need to go in this one. Both teams OVER/UNDER combined record for the year is 96–75-3 so we should fully expect an extreme regression back to a .500 record making the UNDER play yet another great value spot to be in. When it comes to pace of play Toronto is 23 and Cleveland is 16 and we can fully expect the Raptors to slow this one down to a crawl on the road in order to get the win. We also note that the Raptors are 25 in possessions per game (dropping drastically) and the Cavaliers the number 16 team in the league and getting two teams in the lower half of the league in terms of offensive opportunity at this high of a total is always favorable. The public consensus for this game is 63% in favor of the over so we get the nice general consensus and public fade that we always like to have on our side in this one as well. The computer predicted scoring outcome of this game is 204.6 so a 208.5 UNDER play given all the above looks like it should get us where we need to go and we even get the AI predictor brain on our side for this one.

Game Time:
Toronto Raptors at Cleveland Cavaliers - Eastern Conference Playoffs Second Round - Game 1 - Monday, May 1, 2017 7:00 PM

Spread:
723 Toronto Raptors +6½ -110
724 Cleveland Cavaliers -6½ -110

Total:
723 Toronto Raptors Over 208.5 -110
724 Cleveland Cavaliers Under 208.5 -110

Betting odds provided by 5Dimes

The Pick:
UNDER 208.5 (2 Units)

As always bet within your means and bankroll. Enjoy the games and be responsible when betting!

Picks By TexasMatt