Toronto (0-3) at Cleveland (3-0)
When: Monday, May 7th 2018
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland
Time: 8:35 ET | TV: TNT
Opening Odds: Cleveland -5.5
To say the Cleveland Cavaliers have the Toronto Raptors’ number is an understatement. This was supposed to be the year that Toronto finally breaks through in the East, but for the second consecutive postseason, LeBron James and company can sweep Canada’s team right out of the playoffs. James banked in a running one-hander at the buzzer, giving Cleveland a 105-103 win over visiting Toronto on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals and putting the Raptors on the brink of their most devastating playoff exit. The Raptors tied the game with eight seconds remaining on OG Anunoby’s 3-pointer, but James took the inbound pass, dribbled the length of the floor and in one motion, dropped his 10-footer right in front of the Toronto bench. The game-winner capped a 38-point effort for James, who is averaging 34.8 points on 54.7% shooting to go along with 9.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists during the playoffs. Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 27 points and the team clawed their way back into the game in the fourth quarter with All-Star DeMar DeRozan on the bench. Teams that fall behind 3-0 in the playoffs are 0-129 in NBA history, giving Toronto virtually insurmountable odds to come out on top against a team it cannot seem to solve.
DeRozan really struggled in Game 3, producing eight points – more than 15 below his average this postseason – on 3-of-12 shooting, leading to a benching during a critical portion of the fourth quarter. “It’s extremely hard, extremely hard,” DeRozan told reporters of sitting on the sidelines while his teammates made a late push. Lowry is averaging 22 points on 62.9% shooting in the series, but will need a strong effort from his backcourt mate to bring this series back to Toronto. Center Jonas Valanciunas recorded his fifth-straight double-double, but was held to 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting, and turned the ball over four times.
James is starting to get help from his teammates, including Kevin Love, who had 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 16 rebounds. Kyle Korver, Jeff Green and shooting guard J.R. Smith are a combined 22-for-40 from 3-point range in the series. Korver rebounded from a five-point outing in Game 2, to score 19 on Saturday while finishing second on the team with a +11 rating. The Cavaliers have outscored the Raptors by 24 points in the fourth quarter.
This Toronto team has no answer for Cleveland and they were devastated on Saturday. Its going to be impossible for the Raptors to win this series and they may be giving up. If Cleveland gets out to an early lead, it could get ugly. I’ll take the Cavs to win and cover.
Pick: Cavaliers -5.5
- Raptors are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
- Raptors are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 road games.
- Raptors are 3-8-1 ATS in their last 12 games playing on 1 days rest.
- Raptors are 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 Conference Semifinals games.
- Cavaliers are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 Conference Semifinals games.
- Cavaliers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
- Cavaliers are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 vs. NBA Atlantic.
- Cavaliers are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Cavaliers are 16-39-1 ATS in their last 56 home games.
- Cavaliers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Cavaliers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS loss.
- Cavaliers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win.
- Cavaliers are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
- Cavaliers are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 vs. Eastern Conference.
- Cavaliers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Cavaliers are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
- Over is 5-1 in Raptors last 6 games following a ATS win.
- Under is 4-1 in Raptors last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
- Over is 8-2 in Raptors last 10 Conference Semifinals games.
- Over is 3-1-1 in Raptors last 5 Monday games.
- Under is 5-2 in Raptors last 7 road games.
- Under is 5-2 in Raptors last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Under is 5-2 in Raptors last 7 games following a straight up loss.
- Over is 10-4 in Raptors last 14 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Under is 4-0 in Cavaliers last 4 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
- Under is 5-1 in Cavaliers last 6 home games.
- Under is 5-1 in Cavaliers last 6 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Over is 4-1 in Cavaliers last 5 games playing on 1 days rest.
- Over is 4-1 in Cavaliers last 5 overall.
- Over is 4-1 in Cavaliers last 5 vs. Eastern Conference.
- Over is 5-2 in Cavaliers last 7 Conference Semifinals games.
- Over is 5-2 in Cavaliers last 7 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Under is 7-3 in Cavaliers last 10 Monday games.
- Over is 9-4 in Cavaliers last 13 vs. NBA Atlantic.
- Over is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
- Raptors are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
- Raptors are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Cleveland.
- Underdog is 5-1-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
