Filip Tomic
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The NBA play-in tournament is finally here and it tips off tonight in Brooklyn at 7:00 pm ET with the Nets hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers. You can catch the action live on TNT, and I’ve prepared a same-game parlay which you can find below.
We also have predictions on the side and total for the other play-in game between the LA Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves starting at 9:30 pm ET, also on TNT.
Let’s dive into the Cavs vs Nets game!
Darius Garland over 25.5 points (-108)
Seth Curry 3+ made threes (+102)
Kevin Durant under 7.5 assists (-140)
Evan Mobley to record 10+ rebounds (-118)
Parlay odds: +1207
Darius Garland over 25.5 points (-108)
Darius Garland is the Cavs’ only hope in tonight’s game. With Jarrett Allen out of the lineup, this team has struggled a lot lately, and if they want to upset the odds tonight Garland will have to have a big game. He’s proved himself against the Nets this season, averaging 25.3 points per game in 4 meetings, and just this past Friday he had 31 points against them in the same building where they are playing tonight. In his last 10 games he’s been very efficient, especially from 3-point land as he’s knocking down 45.2% of his attempts. The Nets defense has improved a bit lately, but they are still capable of giving up 126 points against teams such as Indiana. Garland has what it takes to have a really solid offensive output tonight.
Read our full game preview for Cleveland Cavaliers vs Brooklyn Nets
Seth Curry 3+ made threes (+102)
Cleveland has been mediocre at defending the 3-point line this season, ranking just 16th in opponent 3-point percentage and allowing 35.3% of shots from distance. In their 3 final games of the regular season that number rose to 41.2%, which ranks well below the league average. Brooklyn scored 12 of the 32 threes they attempted in the last meeting and Seth Curry drained 2 of them. He’s averaged 3 made per game on 47.1% in March and so far in 2 games in April he’s had 3 of them once. When you have Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on your team, they will draw a lot of attention on offense, so role players such as Curry will always get their shots. He just has to make 3 of them tonight, which is very realistic.
Former NBA champion Brian Scalabrine on the play-in and his best bets for Tuesday & Wednesday
Kevin Durant under 7.5 assists (-140)
You might be wondering why I’m going under 7.5 assists for KD after his brilliant performance against Indiana in the final game of the regular season, when he had a career-high 16, but that game was an anomaly. KD struggled shooting from the field, going just 5-for-17 and he simply had to change his game and distribute the ball more often. It’s hard to imagine a player of his stature struggling like that in back-to-back games, especially in a game of this magnitude. The Nets will rely on him for scoring a lot more tonight than they usually do and with Goran Dragic getting out of health and safety protocols, the ball should spend a lot less time in Durant’s hands. Brooklyn already has enough playmakers in Kyrie, Dragic and Patty Mills, so KD won’t have to spend that much energy trying to get everyone else involved, instead he can focus on what he’s doing best and that is scoring.
Evan Mobley to record 10+ rebounds (-118)
In his last game against the Bucks Cleveland rookie Evan Mobley had 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes of play, and that was the 2nd time in 4 games he’s reached double figures on the boards. Without Jarrett Allen in the middle, Mobley will have to come up big if the Cavs want to stand any chance of moving on. He’s averaging 7.8 boards per game over his last 10, but with so much on the line, I think the game will slow down and defenses will be involved a lot more. That should lead to more missed shots and naturally more rebounding opportunities. He’s also very active on the offensive boards. On Friday he finished with 4 offensive boards against the Nets, which is really impressive when you’re going up the likes of Andre Drummond. If he can keep that up tonight he needs only 6 on the defensive end, which sounds very easy for a player of his caliber.
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