Orlando Magic disrespected in opening NBA playoff series odds vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
The fifth-seeded Orlando Magic are slight underdogs in the first round against the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Orlando Magic have posted their first winning season since 2019 to earn the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.
In late January, the Magic were sitting at 24-23 and in the Play-In Tournament, but they finished 23-12 down the stretch to earn the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2020. Despite a rocky finish to the season, the Magic completed their dream finish with a resounding win Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks to punch their ticket to the postseason.
Now comes the difficult task of actually winning a Playoff series.
And the Cleveland Cavaliers may have shown the ultimate disrespect, benching what few players they had available to lose a 13-point lead in their loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday to set up a 4/5 matchup with the young, inexperienced Orlando Magic.
Orlando has thrived in the underdog role this season (24-19 against the spread), something they will have to embrace once again in its first-round matchup against Cleveland.
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Orlando Magic disrespected in opening series odds vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Orlando Magic are a slight underdog in their first-round matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers at +160 ($100 bet wins $160). Those odds carry an implied probability of 38.46 percent that the Magic will take out the Cavaliers and win their first playoff series since Stan Van Gundy’s 2010 squad lost the Eastern Conference finals to the Boston Celtics.
Orlando is not getting much love in the futures market, either. According to FanDuel, the Magic have the third-lowest odds in the East to win the conference and reach the NBA Finals at +6500, an implied probability of just 1.52 percent, and the worst odds of any team to earn an automatic playoff spot.
To win the NBA Finals, the Magic are +16,000, the fourth-lowest odds in the league in front of only the Sacramento Kings (+24,000), Chicago Bulls (+100,000) and Atlanta Hawks (+100,000).
How have the Orlando Magic fared vs. Cleveland Cavaliers this season?
Two defensive-minded teams (both top 10 in defensive net rating), the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers split a four-game regular season series. Each team went 1-1 on the road and at home. It should make for an interesting clash.
Which defense has the better series? In two of the four meetings during the regular season, one team was held to less than 100 points. In the most recent matchup (the first after the All-Star Break), Orlando went to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in late February and pulled out a 116-109 victory, the only meeting decided by single digits.
Game odds update periodically and are subject to change.