The Toronto Raptors will need a win to avoid elimination from their second-round NBA playoff series with the Cleveland Cavaliers when they hit the hardwood on Monday night for Game 4 as 5.5-point road underdogs on the NBA odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Toronto is coming off a 105-103 road loss to Cleveland in Game 3 on Saturday, and takes a daunting 3-0 series deficit into Monday night’s Raptors versus Cavaliers betting matchup at Quicken Loans Arena.
Once again it was LeBron James who landed the fatal blow in Game 3, sealing the Raptors’ defeat with a game-winning two-pointer at the buzzer. James led all players with 38 points on the night, and has now averaged 32 points and 11 assists through the first three games of the series.
With Saturday’s loss, the Raptors have now dropped five straight to Cleveland, and 14 of 16 overall, including 10 straight outright losses in the post-season since 2016. Toronto has also fallen straight up in 10 of its past 11 visits to Quicken Loans Arena, but halted a four-game against-the-spread slide in Cleveland by covering as a 4.5-point road underdog in Game 3.
No team has ever mounted a successful comeback from a 3-0 series deficit in the NBA playoffs, a reality that is not lost on the oddsmakers. With the Raptors now facing elimination at the hands of the Cavaliers for a third straight year, they have plummeted to a distant +10000 on the NBA championship odds.
For the Cavaliers, Saturday’s victory extended their current SU win streak to four games overall. Cleveland has also been dominant of late on home court, winning four straight in the post-season, and 12 of 14 SU since March 3.
However, Cleveland continues to struggle at the sportsbooks after posting an NBA-low 13 ATS wins at home during the regular season. The Cavaliers have now failed to cover in seven straight home dates, and are a meagre 3-8 ATS in their past 11 overall outings, according to the OddsShark NBA Database.
But with King James leading the club’s springtime resurgence, the Cavaliers have climbed to +550 on the NBA championship odds, well ahead of the +1200 odds the club sported at the beginning of its series with Toronto.
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