NBA games today: Playoff odds, predictions for Pistons-Cavaliers, Lakers-Thunder
We’ve bought a pair of Game 2s within the NBA playoffs on Thursday evening. The Cleveland Cavaliers will attempt to pull even with the Detroit Pistonswhereas the Los Angeles Lakers look to make their matchup towards the Oklahoma City Thunder at the least extra aggressive.
The Cavaliers went on a run late of their Game 1 loss to the Pistons, nevertheless it ended up being too late as Detroit’s stingy protection pressured Cleveland into 19 turnovers. The Cavs may’ve discovered a rhythm on the finish of Game 1, however they’re going to want to copy that over 48 minutes to steal a highway win towards the Pistons.
Meanwhile, the Lakers seemed overwhelmed towards the Thunder, which was to be anticipated given the expertise discrepancy on this collection. We might be taking a look at a sweep right here, except the Lakers get celebrity Luka Dončić again to make this matchup extra compelling.
Here’s the schedule and a prediction for every matchup:
NBA games immediately: May 7 playoff schedule
Odds by way of FanDuelall instances ET
- Game 2: Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons (-3.5), 7 pm — Prime Video
- Game 2: Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder (-15.5), 9:30 pm — Prime Video
Cavaliers vs. Pistons Game 2 prediction
The Pistons performed with a stage of physicality that we anticipated from them within the first spherical. Jalen Duren nonetheless hasn’t been in a position to break via offensively. However, he did rack up seven offensive boards and confirmed that, regardless of Cleveland’s measurement with Evan Mobley and Jarrett AllenDuren’s energy wins out in these matchups.
The Cavaliers have a much better offense than the Pistons confronted within the first spherical towards the Magichowever Detroit’s protection may cause comparable points to these Cleveland confronted towards Toronto. This collection goes to be about which type wins out: Detroit’s defensive-minded techniques, or Cleveland’s high-powered offense. In the tip, I’m going with the Pistons to get one other win at residence earlier than this collection shifts to Cleveland. Pick: Pistons (-3.5)
Lakers vs. Thunder Game 2 prediction
Until Dončić returns, I don’t think this series will be very competitive, and Game 1 (a 108-90 Thunder win) proved that. Austin Reaves is still clearly rusty, and players the Lakers got great production out of against the Rockets — Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart — struggled to get anything going against a relentless OKC defense.
Even LeBron James‘ 70.6% shooting night wasn’t enough to put a dent in what was a 21-point lead for the Thunder. The demoralizing realization for the Lakers is that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t even have that dominant a performance. He put up 18 points on 53% from the floor, but Chet Holmgren was the one who led this OKC team in the win. The mismatches he was able to exploit in Game 1 mean that he could be in store for a massive series going forward. Pick: Thunder (-15.5)
