Cavaliers vs Pistons Props & NBA Playoffs Game 1 Best Bets

Cavaliers vs Pistons Playoff Preview: Wake‑Up Call and Best Bets

Maybe the Detroit Pistons simply needed a wake-up call. They certainly got it in the first round. A Game 1 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers would give some reassurance that all the Eastern No. 1 seed needed was a wake-up call.

Best Bets:
– Cade Cunningham — 30+ points (+100)
– Jarrett Allen — Under 7.5 rebounds (+105)
– Tobias Harris — Over 17.5 points (+102)

With his lungs back, Cunningham’s return to form isn’t something to bet against anytime soon (+105 at bet365).

For a veteran who averaged 8.5 rebounds this season and 9.2 across his career, this is a modest rebounding prop, right? Yet, Jarrett Allen fell short of this number in five of the seven games the Cavaliers needed to get by the Raptors.

And now Allen faces a superior rebounding team, one that emphasizes the offensive glass, one that is significantly bigger than Toronto. Jalen Duren should make Allen’s life miserable in this series, a harsh truth for Cleveland’s future beyond this month.

Not to give the Magic more credit than they are due, but their injured roster for much of the season obscured their defensive possibilities. It was clear once it was healthy in April that it was a defense to worry about. Cleveland’s defense is not. From the All-Star Break to the end of the regular season, the Cavaliers’ defensive rating sat at No. 18 in the NBA. None of the 12 teams behind the Cavs made the playoffs proper. Even the shorthanded Magic sat at No. 12 in that stretch.

Tobias Harris cleared this prop in the last five games of the series against Orlando. Even in the first two, he scored 17 and 16 points. He should, quite frankly, feast against a lackluster defense like Cleveland’s.