Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Playoffs Game 5: Since sweeping the Atlanta Hawks in four straight games in the NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals, it hasn’t been a bed of roses for the conference’s top seeded team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. For that matter; gamblers backing Cleveland must be getting tired of watching Magic backers cashing their tickets as Orlando has covered the betting spread in all four games of the series. Tonight, when the Magic and Cavaliers tip-off at Quicken Loans Arena; its do-or-die for the home team as they are down 3-to-1.

Oddsmakers at super- sportsbook Bodog list the Cavaliers as 7 –chalk (-115) favorites with a 191 total. The line price on Orlando at +7 is -105.  Bodog has opted to stay away from posting moneyline prices until nearer game time.

It’s obvious the betting trend in this series has been most favorable backing Orlando. Also the OVER has exceeded the posted total in three of the four games played between the Magic and Cavaliers. Throughout the playoffs, the UNDER has been dominant in Cleveland’s games falling below the posted total seven of 12 times.

So far in these NBA Playoffs, Orlando has played 17 games and covered the spread in 10 of them.  The glowing trend here is the Magic have covered ATS six straight going back to game six with the Celtics in the conference semi-finals. In total’s betting the UNDER has been the best bet falling below the posted total in 10-of-17 games.

The Magic took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series with a 116-114 overtime victory over the Cavaliers on Tuesday night in Game 4. The Magic won that game as a slight 1.5-point underdog, while the combined score sailed OVER the posted total of 188.

Dwight Howard led the Magic with 27 points and 14 rebounds, while Rafer Alston added 26 points in the win. LeBron James netted a game-high 44 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for a double-double in the loss.

The question about Game-5 of this series is how will Cleveland perform under the pressure of win and keep playing or lose and wait till next year. It’s our guess that Cleveland wins tonight in front of a rabid home crowd. We at OSH even like the 7-chalk. Our feeling is Cleveland will come out focused. If they don’t, they will be celebrating in Orlando.
 
[Bodog  is one of the largest and most successful sports books serving America’s online gambling needs. Make Bodog your NBA Playoffs betting home today.]