Magic vs Cavaliers Game 1 Prediction & Best Bets: Who Will Be Hot in Cleveland to Open Series?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have not won a playoff series with a team not featuring LeBron James since 1993. Will that drought end this year? A win today to tip off their series with the Orlando Magic (1:00 pm ET, ESPN) would be a big step towards doing so.

The Cavaliers (48-34) landed the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference for the second season in a row, finishing one game ahead of the Magic (47-35), who are in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2020.

The winner of this series will likely be a heavy underdog against the Boston Celtics in the second round, but this series is a lot more evenly matched.

How will things play out in today’s opener at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse? Read on for a prediction and best bets.

Orlando Magic vs Cleveland Cavaliers Odds

Odds are courtesy of BetOnline, a longtime fixture among the top online sports betting sites. Check out our BetOnline sportsbook review, then bag a big bonus (100% if your first deposit is with Bitcoin, Ethereum, or another cryptocurrency) to bet on today’s NBA playoff action.

Spread

• Orlando Magic +5 (-106)
• Cleveland Cavaliers -5 (-114)

Over/Under

• Over 207 (-110)
• Under 207 (-110)

Moneyline

• Orlando Magic +175
• Cleveland Cavaliers -205

Get free and reliable moneyline, spread, and over/under consensus picks for every NBA matchup, including this one, from our NBA picks page.

Orlando Magic vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction and Best Bets

While this series does look like one that could go six or seven games, that doesn’t mean that we will see a bunch of close games.

During the regular season, the Magic and Cavaliers split their four-game series. Both teams won once at home and once on the road. None of the games went down to the wire, either.

Magic vs Cavaliers Head-to-Head Results This Season

• February 22 (Cleveland): Orlando 116-109
• January 22 (Orlando): Cleveland 126-99
• December 11 (Orlando): Orlando 104-94
• December 6 (Cleveland): Cleveland 121-111

If late-season form is a factor to you, neither team did all that well down the stretch.

However, while Cleveland did lose six of ten to close out the regular season, the Cavaliers were 3-1 at home in that stretch.

Orlando went 5-5 to wrap up the regular season, but they were 1-4 on the road in that stretch.

For the season, the Magic were 9-19 SU and 15-13 ATS as a road underdog and 17-26 SU and 24-19 ATS overall as an underdog, while the Cavaliers were 22-10 SU and 14-17-1 ATS as a home favorite and 37-16 SU and 24-27-2 overall as a favorite.

The numbers indicate that Cleveland should take the win and a 1-0 series lead, and I lean for them to cover as well.

Magic vs Cavaliers Prediction: Cavaliers to win

Magic vs Cavaliers Best Bets: Cavaliers -5 & Cavaliers team total over 106

Other NBA Playoffs Betting Information

Where to Bet on the NBA Playoffs

Many of the top online sportsbooks offer a wide variety of NBA betting odds throughout the season.

In addition to being able to bet on 2024 NBA championship odds, you can make daily NBA picks on odds for every game all season long, including NBA playoffs odds.

Also, you can bet on the All-Star Game, NBA Draft odds, and the major awards like NBA MVP, NBA Rookie of the Year, and more at most reputable sports betting sites.

There are plenty of sports betting sites you can choose from that are good for NBA betting. In addition to BetOnline, here are several books that we have reviewed and highly recommend:

• BetDSI (review)
• BetUS (review)
• Bookmaker (review)
• Bovada (review)
• MyBookie (review)
• Sportsbetting.ag (review)

If you don’t have an account at a book on this list, check out our reviews to help you determine if it is worth your interest and your betting funds.

Bovada is one of the best sports betting sites for NBA player props, as they offer a plethora of prop markets for every game on the schedule. They also have a hefty welcome bonus for cryptocurrency users (75% up to $750).

Interested in Learning More About NBA Betting?

Looking to learn more about the ins and outs of betting on the NBA? Check out our NBA betting guide. Also, if you’d like to learn more about NBA player prop bets, check out our NBA player props guide.

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