NBA Playoffs Best Bets: Cavs and Mavs to Cover

We are now in the thick of Round 2 in the NBA Playoffs. An entertaining weekend saw Denver and Indiana tie their semifinal series’ up at two games each, while Boston and Dallas edged ahead two games to one. Monday night features crucial game fours in Dallas and Cleveland.

Here are SportsGrid’s site picks for Monday night’s second-round action. 

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7:00 p.m. ET – Boston at Cleveland

Spread: Boston (-8.5) | Moneyline:  | Total: 206.5

Where to Watch: TNT | Location: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers have played three games in this Eastern Conference Semifinals series, and all three have been blowouts. Game 3 was competitive for a time, but the Celtics pulled away for a large lead and held on for the 13-point win. The Cavaliers are now faced with the scary prospect of trying to stay close without a healthy Donovan Mitchell. The star guard is questionable for Game 4 with a calf injury. The SportsGrid model clearly feels Mitchell is going to play and be quite effective as the model has a five-star pick on the home team to keep this game close and cover the 8.5-point spread. Boston is still projected to win this game but the model has them doing so by only six points. 

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Cleveland will need much more from Darius Garland and Max Strus in game four. Garland was only 6-15 for 15 points and Strus was just 2-8 for six points in 37 minutes. If the Cavs are to pull off the upset, or even be competitive, they need strong performances from all three of their starting guards and not just from Mitchell.

SportsGrid’s Bets: Cleveland (+8.5) | SportsGrid Projections: 5-stars

9:30 p.m. ET – Oklahoma City at Dallas

Spread: Dallas (-1) | Moneyline:  | Total: 213.5

Where to Watch: TNT | Location: American Airlines Arena

After Oklahoma City took Game 1 in dominating fashion, the Dallas Mavericks have risen to the challenge and now lead the series two games to one. Game 4 is tonight in Dallas and the SportsGrid model has a four-star play on the Mavericks winning and covering the slimmest of spreads. The Dallas Mavericks won Game 2 by nine points and took the series lead with a four-point win on Saturday night. That was largely thanks to timely three-point shooting from guys like P.J. Washington and really tough defense from the entire team. The Mavericks have made Shai Gilgeous-Alexander work for everything and despite Luka Doncic‘s numerous injuries, they have pulled ahead and have a chance to take a commanding lead.

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SportsGrid Best Bet: Dallas (-1)  | SportsGrid Projections: 4-stars

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