Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Orlando Magic Prediction: Will Jarrett Allen Crash the Boards in Game 3?
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Orlando Magic Prediction: Will Jarrett Allen Crash the Boards in Game 3?
The Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Orlando tonight after taking the first two games of this series to go up 2–0 against the Magic. The Magic now get their turn to play two games at home and will look to try and climb back in this series as they’ve been plagued by stagnant offense across the first two games. Can Orlando crawl back and make this a series?
Cavaliers vs. Magic Game 3 DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: April 25, 2024
- Start Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: NBA TV
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Orlando Magic Prediction
If the Magic wants to make this a series, they will have to start by making some shots and also getting more rebounds. The Magic were out-rebounded 40–54 in Game 1 and 41–48 in Game 2. They have to get the rebounds closer if they want to have a chance at climbing back in the series. They will also have to start hitting some shots. They shot just 32% from the field and 21% from three in Game 1 and 36% from the field and 25% from three in Game 2. The good news is that the Magic were much better at home this season than they were on the road. The Magic were one of the best home teams in the NBA, going 29–12 in the Kia Center and just 18–23 on the road.
If the Magic want to keep the rebounding closer in this game, they have to slow down Jarrett Allen. Allen has had a huge game on the boards in this series so far, going for 18 rebounds in Game 1 and 20 in Game 2. He has had more rebounds than points in both games of the series so far. However, I expect that to change in Game 2.
To get rebounds, you need your opponents to miss. The Magic did a lot of that in games one and two, as I covered earlier. The Magic have been the worst offenses in the playoffs so far, but this should turn around at home, as they were one of the most different teams on the road versus at home in the NBA this year.
The Magic shot 46% from the field on the road this season and made 39 field goals per game on average. At home, they averaged 48.7% on field goals and made 41.4 field goals per game. With how bad they looked in Games 1 and 2, I don’t see how this offense can’t bounce back at home in Game 3.
With the Magic missing so many shots, this gave maximum opportunities for Jarrett Allen to get rebounds. As a result, he flew over his rebounds total in Games 1 and 2 and has now risen all the way up to 12.5 in Game 3.
Allen opened at 10.5 rebounds in Game 1 and 11.5 rebounds in Game 2. Now, his prop has bloomed all the way up to 12.5. This is an extremely high prop for him that he did not see for most of the season, as he averages 10.5 rebounds per game this season. Allen only hit over 12.5 rebounds in 28% of his 79 games this season. He played the Magic four times this regular season and did not go over this total once before the postseason.
Evan Mobley is also in after being injured for a chunk of the season. Jarrett Allen only went over 12.5 rebounds in 10 of 47 games this season with Evan Mobley playing, or 21%. This line is an overreaction to how he rebounded in games one and two, and I love getting value with this ballooned total for Jarrett Allen to go under 12.5 rebounds tonight.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Orlando Magic Pick
Pick: Jarrett Allen Under 12.5 Rebounds -115 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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Article Author
Ben Rajavuori is a handicapper out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been creating sports content for almost four years now and is an expert in all things NFL, MLB, NBA, UFC, and NCAAB. Ben thrives on diving deep into statistics to find the best angle on every bet. You can follow him on Twitter @WeBeatTheSpread.