NBA Playoffs: Cleveland Cavaliers at Orlando Magic Game 3 Odds

The Orlando Magic are in desperate straits in their first round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers after losing Monday’s Game 2 by a score of 96-86. Orlando has failed to crack 90 points so far in the playoffs and the Magic’s scoring issues have put them in a huge hole as the series shifts to Orlando for Games 3 and 4.

The Magic are actually slight favorites at -120 on the moneyline and by 1.5 points on the spread for Thursday’s Game 3 on the Cavaliers vs Magic odds.

There were concerns that Orlando’s lack of dynamic scoring outside of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner would cause problems against a good defensive team in Cleveland but the Magic’s offensive output in this series has somehow been worse than expected.

Jamahl Mosley’s team is averaging 84.5 points per game and is shooting well under 40% from the field and 30% from three. The Magic haven’t been setting any NBA scoring records with their performances in the postseason, that’s for sure.

But, maybe the most concerning aspect of things for the Magic is that the Cavaliers haven’t clicked offensively either…but they are comfortably up 2-0. Cleveland only shot 41.5% from the field in Game 2 and went 12-for-39 from three-point range.

So, if Orlando hasn’t been able to capitalize on the Cavaliers dealing with their own offensive struggles, then the Magic are in a really bad spot should Cleveland start scoring at a somewhat-competent level.

Jarrett Allen Continues To Dominate

Somewhat surprisingly, the best player on the floor in Games 1 and 2 was Cleveland center Jarrett Allen. He had 16 points and 18 rebounds in Game 1 and managed to outdo himself in Game 2, posting 16 points and 20 rebounds with three blocks.

Allen has mostly neutralized Orlando’s bigs Jonathan Isaac and Wendell Carter Jr. while providing elite rim protection that has hurt the Magic’s ability to get to the basket.

The Cavaliers vs Magic odds are banking on Allen having an off-night in Game 3 as well as Orlando finally being able to make some outside shots. The 7-footer, when he’s on, is one of the best shot-blockers in the NBA and that, coupled with Cleveland’s athletic and versatile defenders, makes the Cavaliers hard to score against in the paint.

Orlando might have to start getting creative with trying to draw Allen away from the basket so lanes to the hoop open up. Granted, this all starts with outside shooting because if the Magic are going to continue to struggle so much from three, there’ll be no reason for Cleveland to guard the perimeter.

Only one game separated these teams in the NBA standings during the regular season but with how this series has played out, it certainly doesn’t feel like that.

Magic Need To Limit Turnovers

One thing the Magic have actually excelled against the Cavaliers has been forcing turnovers. Orlando has forced 32 turnovers thus far while committing only 28 themselves. This disparity has allowed the Magic to somewhat keep pace with Cleveland in terms of possessions despite how poorly the Magic have shot the basketball and, accordingly, have lost the rebounding battle as a result.

If Orlando is going to cover the Cavaliers vs Magic odds in Game 3, the Magic will need to keep putting the pressure on Cleveland and force mistakes.

That can lead to some easy points on the fastbreak and limits the amount of possessions that the other team has. However, Orlando needs to cut down on its own mistakes in the halfcourt because the Magic simply cannot afford to throw away possessions with how bad their offense has been.

The 16 turnovers they committed in Game 2 coupled with 36% shooting from the field isn’t going to cut it. You can maybe deal with high turnovers if the offense is moving the ball and making shots or you have a lower-efficiency offense with few turnovers, but both at the same time is a recipe for disaster.