New York Knicks (47-35) at Cleveland Cavaliers (51-31)
Game Info: Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. EST (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse)
Betting Odds: Cavaliers (-5.5) / Over/Under (202.5)
Pick: Cavaliers (-5.5)
Tuesday night brings us Game 5 of the First Round in the Eastern Conference Playoffs between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers, with the Knicks looking to seal the deal inside of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
New York has completely stunned the Cavaliers so far this series, holding them under 100 points in all of their wins. Heading into game 5, they will look to replicate that once again to close the series out. There are not many teams in the league that have been able to hold Donovan Mitchell down in the Playoffs, but the Knicks have been able to do that superbly in the last 3 games, keeping him to a mediocre 49 points combined in Games 2-4. On the offensive side of the ball, Jalen Brunson continues to look like the most underrated signing of the offseason, scoring 20+ points in every Playoff game so far. Other than his unique ability to get himself and his teammates into quality scoring positions at an increasingly high rate, he brings a sense of calmness to the Knicks' offense that they haven't been able to get in recent years. We shall see if he can deliver once again to send the Cavaliers home packing on their home floor.
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Cleveland has their backs against the wall as they head home to play game 5 being down in the series 3-1. If they are to turn this series around and send things back to Madison Square Garden, they will need to be able to execute much better than they've been able to do so far in Games 1-4. That starts with Mitchell finding his groove. With the Knicks having now won 6 of 8 games versus the Cavaliers between the regular season and Playoffs, Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff will need to come up with a different plan if he wants to conquer the Knicks after all. That will all start on Wednesday night when the Cavaliers will need to somehow break down the vaunted defense that the Knicks offer.
Betting trends to consider in this matchup:
- Cleveland is 24-16-1 ATS when playing as the home favorite
- The under is 24-18-1 ATS when the Knicks are playing as the underdog
- The under is 4-0 in this series so far
Cleveland has no more excuses and their time in the Playoffs is slowly running dry. In saying that though, I truly think they have the pieces to turn this series on its head. The Knicks have looked unstoppable at times in this series, but I fully expect the Cavaliers to at least make the Knicks close the series out in MSG. For sure, the Knicks have had the Cavs' number all year long, but give me the home team to right their wrongs tonight to force a crucial game 6 on Friday night. Mitchell is going to bounce back in epic fashion and the Cavs will win by double digits here.
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