Just in case you haven’t noticed, it’s the Cleveland Cavaliers who are playing like champions when it comes to gambling. Down 1-2 in its best of seven game series to the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland has gone 3-0 against the spread and is the only team to have dominated a game. One must wonder if or when the Pistons will return to playoffs form.
Tonight the Pistons and Cavaliers meet in Game-Four of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals series with tip-off at 8 p.m. ET at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Oddsmaker’s at most offshore sportsbooks see the Cavaliers chalking up another cover and win as they are installed as the favorite by less than a bucket at – 1 ½-points. The total is expected to continue to fly low currently set at 171. The UNDER has prevailed in totals betting in all three games of the series. In the last seven games Cleveland has played, the UNDER has cashed on the total.
Daniel Gibson and Sasha Pavlovic turned in a good defensive effort on the Pistons All-Star backcourt of Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton in Game-Three holding the duo to a combined 20-point and only got that because Billups managed eight points in the fourth quarter. If Cleveland can repeat the same defensive job in tonight’s Game-Four, it stands a good chance of evening up the series.
If the Cavaliers are to beat the Pistons in Game-Four, they will most likely have to do it without point-guard Larry Hughes. Mired in a shooting slump during the postseason, Hughes will likely sit out the game after tearing a muscle in his left foot during the Cavaliers win in Game-Three. Currently Hughes is listed as doubtful for tonight’s game.
If Hughes can’t play, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown will probably go with Eric Snow on the point. Snow didn’t play in Game-Three and only seen 17 minutes in the series, scoring one point.
Brown could go with Daniel Gibson who made several crucial plays at both ends of the floor in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s victory and was the only Cleveland player other than LeBron James to stay in for the final 12 minutes. James, who finished the game with 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, has full confidence in Gibson.
Tonight I expect the Pistons to return to form and win this game. If Game-Three did anything, it woke up a sleeping Giant. The Pistons will be determined not to let the series return to Auburn Hills evened up.
