The NBA First Round Playoff Games have arrived as Pickswise will be handing out daily winning NBA picks starting on Saturday. With over a decade of combined winning experience, Pickswise is your number one NBA first round playoff resource to win. To kick off the first round playoff games, the Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors from the Eastern Conference will go toe to toe. Enjoy these free NBA first round playoff predictions? Give @Pickswise a follow and get a first hand-look on his daily research.
Magic vs. Raptors First Round Playoff Predictions
Game 1: Magic vs. Raptors
Line: Raptors -420
Pickswise Expert Picks: Raptors WIN!
Toronto is a heavy favorite and hard to beat at home. The ATS record was not there this season but they only lost 9 times at Scotiabank Arena. One of those was to Orlando who actually split the season series with the Magic. The Magic have a couple of injury concerns coming into game one of the series. Jonathan Isaac is in concussion protocol and Nikola Vucevic is day to day. Those are two starting frontcourt players that this team needs. Their depth is not very good. Toronto is as healthy as they have been all season and now they have to show that they are ready for the real season. The regular season has been really steady but they traded for Kawhi Leonard and Marc Gasol to make a difference now. Toronto is currently sitting at -420 money line which is still a great bet to make especially if pairing with another one of our NBA winners. Especially if Orlando is not totally healthy. Who are they going to go to when things get tight? You have to take Toronto in this one.
Game 2: Magic vs. Raptors
Line: Raptors -570
Pickswise Expert Picks: Raptors WIN!
Toronto has to be a little nervous now. They have been building to the playoffs all season long and then they had a dud of an opener – All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry did not even score in the game, I wonder if that has ever even happened before. Getting down 0-1 is certainly overcomeable but it puts extra pressure on a franchise that has not handled it well in the past. Orlando had its moments throughout the win but they did not play great. They hung in there and made plays at the end. Point guard DJ Augustin played great, including the winning shot, but the rest of the team was just OK. I think if you are picking Orlando on the money line here is kind of like saying you now think they are going to win the series. I am not there just yet. Take Toronto. At -570 you are not going to get much of a return but it is the way to play it.
Line: Raptors -230
Pickswise Expert Picks: Raptors WIN!
Game 4: Magic vs. Raptors
Line: Raptors -230
Pickswise Expert Picks: Raptors WIN!
Toronto took the upper hand in the series by beating Orlando on the road in game three. At times they had bigger leads but the game closed as a five point margin which was nearly on the spread. Pascal Siakam was the best player on the floor for either team and if you are not familiar with Spicy P that is on you. He has emerged as one of the most improved and exciting players to watch.
I am not expecting much to change for game four. Toronto remains better than Orlando at nearly every spot on the floor and even though the Magic did get the pace they wanted at home they were not able to capitalize. It should be more of the same in game four as Toronto takes complete command of the series. Toronto is -230 which is not too bad. The spread is similar to G3 but this time I think they are more emphatic with a win like they were in G2. Take the Raptors.
Line: Raptors -1000
Pickswise Expert Picks: Raptors WIN!
Toronto did not get off to a great start in game four but once they found their groove the Magic had no answers. In the easy win the Raptors got plenty from start Kawhi Leonard but also got more from their bench than they have in other games. For Orlando it was basically only Aaron Gordon who came to play and even though he is showing more in this series than I expected he is not enough. The series is returning to Toronto for this one and just like in the Philly/Brooklyn series where the underdogs stole the opener this is looking like the end of the line. Toronto is vastly superior and should close this one in front of their fans. You are not going to get rich backing the Raptors to win in this spot as they are -1000 but I don’t see how you can make a play on Orlando. They are done.
