The National Basketball Association (NBA) has a pair of second-round playoff series kicking off on Tuesday night. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons meet in Game 1 at Little Caesars Arena at 7:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN and Peacock, while the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder square off in Game 1 at Paycom Center on NBC and Peacock in the later window. Let’s build our bankroll with our best NBA picks & predictions for Tuesday, May 5th.
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Tuesday’s Best NBA Picks & Predictions
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Cleveland Cavaliers (+136) at Detroit Pistons (-162) | O/U 215.5 (-112/-108)
Both the Cavaliers and the Pistons needed seven games to advance out of the first round, so that makes it a little difficult to handicap this series. For Game 1, let’s take it easy, and let the series develop a little.
Cleveland pulled away in the second half of Game 7 against the Toronto Raptors for a 114-102 win, covering as an 8.5-point favorite to snap an 0-4 against the spread (ATS) skid. The over cashed in the final three games of the series, too, while going 5-2 in the first-round set.
Donovan Mitchell averaged 23.1 points per game to lead the Cavs in the series, while averaging 4.9 rebounds per game and three assists per game. James Harden was right on his heels, averaging 20.6 points per game, while Evan Mobley went for 18.1 points per game, a team-best 8.6 rebounds per game, 3.4 assists per game and one block per game. Jarrett Allen came up huge in Game 7 with 22 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks, while averaging 11.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.
For Detroit, it fell into a 3-1 series hole before rattling off three consecutive victories over the Orlando Magic. The Pistons won the final two games of the series by an average of 18 points, with each victory by 14+ points. After going 1-4 ATS in the first five games, the Pistons also covered the final two installments. The under had a 4-3 edge in the series, with the over-under splitting 2-2 in four home games.
These teams met four times in the regular season, splitting the series 2-2 straight up (SU), with each team winning once on the other’s court, and the Cavaliers were 3-1 ATS in the series. The under cashed in three of the four meetings, too.
This is the fifth-ever meeting in the postseason between these Central Division neighbors. The Cavaliers swept a four-game set in the most recent meeting in 2016. We’ll back the Pistons to get the job done in Game 1, and let’s go low on the total.
Picks: Pistons -3.5 (-104) & Under 215.5 Points (-108)
Los Angeles Lakers (+700) at Oklahoma City Thunder (-1100) | O/U 213.5 (-114/-106)
The Lakers and Thunder meet for the third time since the Thunder relocated from Seattle. In the first round of the 2010 series, the Lakers won in six games. In 2012, in the Western Conference semifinals, the Thunder won in five games. Los Angeles has won six of the past seven playoff series against the Oklahoma City/Seattle franchise since the 1980 Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers fired out to a 3-0 series lead against the Houston Rockets, but after losing a pair of games, the Lakers had to survive. That it did, topping the Rockets 98-78 in Houston in Game 6 as a 3.5-point underdog, as the under (205.5) cashed. The Lakers were 4-2 ATS in the series, and the under went 4-2 in those games, too.
For the defending NBA champion Thunder, they weren’t tested in a four-game sweep against the Phoenix Suns. All four games were decided by nine or more points, with an average margin of victory of 17.3 points. The over cashed in the final three games, and the Thunder scored 119+ points in all four outings while giving up 109 or fewer points in three of them.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander blew up for 33.8 points per game in the series, while adding eight assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. Jalen Williams averaged 20.5 points, five assists, four rebounds and one steal per game. Chet Holmgren averaged 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, two blocks, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Williams will miss Game 1 due to a strained left hamstring. For the Lakers, Luka Doncic remains sidelined due to a strained left hamstring.
With Doncic out for the series, LeBron James turned back the clock with a team-best 23.2 points per game, with 8.3 assists, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. Austin Reaves averaged 18.5 points, four assists, 3.5 rebounds and two blocks per game. Rui Hachimura stepped up with 15.8 points per game, while veteran Marcus Smart averaged 14.7 points, 5.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 1.7 blocks per game.
Let’s take the Lakers catching the big points in Game 1, as 15.5 is just way too high of a spread. And, let’s go low on the total for this series opener.
Picks: Lakers +15.5 (-115) & Under 213.5 Points (-106)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe