New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers betting tips and predictions for Friday’s NBA Playoffs game on ABC. After splitting the first two games in Cleveland, the Knicks and Cavaliers head to Madison Square Garden for an all important Game 3 tonight. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
New York Knicks
New York got what they came for in the first 2 games as they head to MSG in hopes of getting the series lead back. Jalen Brunson didn’t have the best of games in Game 2, but there were some encouraging signs surrounding Julius Randle who is still getting back into form following his ankle injury. Backed by a packed arena, the Knicks are favorites in the series for the first time and for good reason.
They won both meetings during the regular season at Madison Square Garden vs Cleveland and they are 4-1 ATS/SU in the last 5 meetings. They’ve also beaten 5 of their last 7 opponents from the Eastern Conference, heading into tonight’s game there are no injury concerns for head coach Tom Thibodeau.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers don’t have a ton of experience playing in games like these, Donovan Mitchell is an exception to that so I’m looking for him to assert himself early in this game. Getting the crowd out of it early would be a huge step in the right direction, Cleveland has done well on the road lately winning 6 of their last 7 games to close out the regular season. Darius Garland also woke up in Game 2 with 32 points, his contribution will be essential for the Cavaliers moving forward in the series. Unlike the Knicks, they do have one injury worry and that is Cedi Osman who is questionable with a ankle injury. As underdogs the Cavs have just 4 times in 18 regular season games this year.
The MSG arena will be electric tonight and although the Knicks had a better road record than home record during the regular season, I still feel like they are the team to beat when they play home. Expect good things from Brunson here, I’ll back the Knicks to cover the spread.
New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Predictions & Odds
Scoring has been down in both games played in Cleveland and I see no reason why that would change as the series shifts to New York for the next 2 games. These two teams have been involved in 7 low scoring games in their last 10 meetings while an average of just 207.7 points per game has been scored during that stretch.
Although the Knicks are notorious for going over the total at MSG this season with a 24-17 O/U record, their last 4 of 5 games vs the Cavs in this arena have all gone under the total. These are the 25th and 30th ranked teams in pace, averaging 99 and 97.4 possessions per game respectively. With each possession slowing down in the postseason and these being the 1st and 15th ranked defenses in terms of efficiency I think backing the under is a valuable bet here.
