NBA Picks & Predictions: Saturday (5/9)
The NBA playoffs continue on Saturday with two games, but we’ll focus on the Game 3 matchup between the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena on NBC and Peacock at 3:00 p.m. ET. Here are our best NBA picks & predictions for Saturday, May 9th.
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Saturday’s Best NBA Picks & Predictions
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Detroit Pistons (+154) at Cleveland Cavaliers (-184) | O/U 211.5 (-110/-110)
The Pistons make the quick jump across Lake Erie to downtown Cleveland to battle the Cavaliers in Game 3 of this Eastern Conference second-round playoff series. Detroit holds a 2-0 series lead after holding serve at Little Caesars Arena in the first two installments of this series. The Pistons also covered both games as 3.5-point favorites, and the under cashed in each game.
In the first two games, Detroit averaged 109 points per game (PPG), while Cleveland averaged 99 PPG. The Pistons have won five straight playoff games since going down 3-1 in the series to the Orlando Magic, while Detroit has covered four in a row. The under has cashed in three of the past four games and in six postseason games.
For the Cavaliers, they struggled to get the job done in the first round against the Toronto Raptors, finally pushing through in Game 7. However, the Cavaliers have done a poor job covering the spread, going 1-6 against the spread (ATS) in the past seven outings since starting the playoffs 2-0 straight up (SU)/ATS. The over went 5-2 in the seven-game set with the Raptors, but the under has hit in each game so far.
Detroit won Game 2 by a score of 107-97, as Cade Cunningham had 25 points and 10 assists with three rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 42 minutes, while hitting three triples. Duncan Robinson went for 17 points, including five triples, and Tobias Harris was good for 21 points, a pair of three-pointers and two blocks with two steals.
For Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell did all he could, going for 31 points on 11-of-24 shooting, with six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Jarrett Allen went for 22 points on a solid 7-of-9 shooting, while grabbing seven assists with three assists, a block and a steal. James Harden had a hard time, however, posting just 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting, while turning it over a team-high four times. He also had six rebounds and a steal.
The Pistons hit 49% (39-of-80) from the field, and shot 50% (14-of-28) from downtown, while the Cavaliers hit just 42% (34-of-81) from the field and 22% (7-of-32) on treys. Detroit was +6 on rebounds, +2 on steals and had a +9 margin in fast-break points.
Cleveland was +2 in turnover margin, at least, while posting 10 more points in the paint. It can also build on the fact that it shot 81% (22-of-27) from the free-throw line, which is helpful in close games. At home, it should be a lot closer for the Cavaliers in this must-win game.
Detroit nearly led wire-to-wire in Game 2, leading 94% of the game, to just 1% for Cleveland. We’re going to lean on the Cavaliers to flip the script in Game 3, or this series is done. Cleveland has a lot more pride than that. And, we’ll stick with the under.
Picks: Cavaliers -4.5 (-106) & Under 211.5 Points (-110)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe