The first-round series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic shifts to the Sunshine State for Game 3, where the home side will attempt to punch back after losing two games in Cleveland to start the series. The Cavaliers will be looking to take full control of this matchup with a road victory after dominating at home in the first two contests.
Dean Wade has been ruled out for the reset of the series with a knee injury, and his timetable for return is unknown. Craig Porter Jr. and Ty Jerome also remain out for Cleveland. Jalen Suggs, who suffered a knee sprain in Game 2, is not on the injury report and should be good to go.
The Magic are 2-point favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total coming in at 200. Orlando is -130 on the moneyline while Cleveland is +110.
Cavaliers vs. Magic, 7 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Magic -2
After two impressive showings at home, it’s a bit odd to see the Cavaliers enter this matchup as underdogs. Cleveland was 22-19 on the road, going 19-21-1 ATS. The Cavaliers were 10-11 ATS as road underdogs. The Magic went 29-12 at home. They were 27-13 ATS as the home team and 19-6 ATS as the home favorite.
Donovan Mitchell is the best player on the floor and has been a proven playoff performer but I think the Magic are able to punch back in Game 3 at home. Give me Orlando to cover Thursday.
Over/Under: Under 200
The first two games in this series went well under this number, and I don’t see much changing as the series shifts to Orlando. Cleveland is 17-24 to the over as the road side this season and Orlando is 15-25 to the over at home, so expect the defensive showdown to continue. I’ll take the under, despite this total going lower as the series moves along.