NBA Picks Monday 5/23/2016 – CLE vs. TOR

Pick #1 – Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors​

Just when you thought there was no hope for the Toronto Raptors and the Eastern Conference Finals were all but settled new life has sprung up in the form of a home game and a 2-1 series. A possible get even game for the Raptors they hope to keep up the momentum of a huge win and a 5-5 last 10 game record while they try to hold off the streaking and dominating 9-1 Cleveland Cavaliers over there last 10 game record. The Cleveland Cavaliers (67-26) and the Toronto Raptors (65-34) are both playing slow, highly defensive basketball and were are finally getting a total pick that favors these conditions. The Cavs are reporting Dahntay Jones as injured and the Raptors list Jonas Valanciunas on the sidelines we should be yielding similar results to our recent past scenarios. These two teams absolutely love to slow each other down on the offensive end so lets review the UNDER and see why it makes sense to go with this read. To start the total has gone UNDER in 18 of Cleveland's last 21 games when playing on the road against Toronto. These two teams are known to have slow games and especially in Toronto so we have to really like our chances here. The offensive and defensive combined stats over the last 10 games are 201.5 and 191.8 respectively so as long as we lean towards the lower number we should be all good. The over/under for this NBA spread total opened at 197.5 and has since dropped a half point to 197 so we get one of our favorite betting measurements sliding in our direction. The Raptors won by 15 points last game so expect Cleveland to put a lot more emphasis on defense in this one. The public consensus for this game is at a reasonable 55% towards our UNDER selection so we get yet another stat in our favor. The last plyaoff game two days ago in Toronto between these two Eastern conference juggernauts resulted in a 99 – 84 win for the Raptors putting on full display how easily these matchups can be low scoring and one sided as they have been in the recent past. We have to feel great about the UNDER 197 as both teams should be looking to shut each other down in order to solidify the win.

Game Time:
Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors - Eastern Conference Finals - Game 4 - Monday, May 23, 2016 8:35 PM

Spread:
713 Cleveland Cavaliers -6
714 Toronto Raptors +6

Total:
713 Cleveland Cavaliers Over 197
714 Toronto Raptors Under 197

Betting odds provided by 5Dimes

The Pick:
UNDER 197 (2 Units)

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

Picks By TexasMatt