NBA Playoffs expert picks, odds for Thursday: Magic-Cavs, 76ers-Knicks,

The NBA Playoffs move on to Game 3s on Thursday, with the lower seeds finally getting their shot at home games. Each of Thursday’s games features a series that is 2-0, led by the teams who have been playing at home. But the odds are predicting two of those series to be 2-1 by the end of the night.

The night starts with a tip-off between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic, with the Magic owning the smallest edge in the odds. Next up, a revenge match in Philly where the Philadelphia 76ers will be hungry after a controversial and chaotic end of Game 2 against the New York Knicks. The night closes out with the LA Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets, where another narrow point spread favors the Nuggets.

Can the Cavaliers bust their road-playoff blues from last year and take a win in Orlando? Will the Sixers come out swinging to prove they can overcome this physical New York squad? What will LeBron James’ and the Lakers’ gut-check look like after blowing a 20-point lead in Denver on Monday?

We’ve got a preview for each game from the angle of the betting odds, plus picks from our team for each matchup.

All odds from BetMGM. Find the best deals on StubHub for tickets.

No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers at No. 5 Orlando Magic

How to watch: 7 p.m. ET on NBA TV

Cleveland leads series 2-0

Series odds: Cavaliers -700, Magic +500

The Cavs head to Orlando up 2-0, comfortably leading despite much of their roster not playing their best ball. But Cleveland has pushed it where it counts. Jarrett Allen has been a rebounding machine, racking up 38 rebounds over the first two games and two double-doubles. By comparison, the Magic starters combined have 49, though their defense is generally solid.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting in Game 1 and a game-high 23 in Game 2. He’s shooting an average of 70 percent in the first quarters. But here’s where the cracks are showing. In Game 2, Mitchell only scored four points in the second half and the Cavs as a whole scored just 16 in the fourth quarter after Orlando switched its defense.

Perhaps that explains this point spread, which is very narrow for a series that hasn’t had a close game yet. As The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd put it: “The Magic aren’t that far off from making this a series. Some of those shots that didn’t fall on the road could fall at home.”

So far, though, the Magic have had trouble creating against the Cavs, shooting less than 35 percent overall and less than 24 percent from 3-point range in the two games so far. The Cavs are packing the paint and forcing long shots that just aren’t falling. The Magic are also bad on wide-open threes (no defender within 6 feet) at 11-for-44.

The key for the Magic will be to come out with more heat in the first quarter and not let the Cavs pull the game away early. That seems more likely with a home crowd, and the narrow spread for this game reflects that advantage.

Expert picks for Cavs vs. Magic

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