New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Picks, Predictions, Odds

Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert

4 minute read

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The opening round of the NBA Playoffs resumes on Tuesday night with Game 2 of a compelling Eastern Conference series between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers. Coverage begins from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

NEW YORK KNICKS vs. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS BETTING PREDICTION

Game 1 of this series was an absolute slugfest, as we saw both teams shoot less than 44% from the field and 32.5% from beyond the arc; a matchup that went all the way down to the wire, with the Cavs managing to pull ahead by a score of 93-92 with 2:12 left in the fourth quarter, but a longball from Josh Hart and a pair of buckets from Jalen Brunson down the stretch allowed the Knicks to sneak away with a 101-97 victory in Saturday’s series opener.

New York certainly isn’t known for its stifling defensive play, ranked just 19th in defensive rating, as opposed to ranking 3rd in offensive rating. However, in the Knicks’ first playoff matchup, their Villanova’ products were the only guys that truly brought their A-Game on offense, as Brunson and Hart combined for 44 points on 54% from the field, while the rest of the team scored just 57 points on 34% shooting. So, it almost goes without saying, their defense had to step up in a big way in order to secure a victory in Game 1.

Donovan Mitchell played phenomenal for Cleveland in Game 1, as he racked up 38 points on 14-of-30 from the field, and Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen adequately assisted on offense as well, combining for 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting; however, the other five guys that received minutes played terrible, scoring just 28 points on 9-of-32 from the floor (28% FG), and such a low level of production from their supporting cast simply won’t cut it against a Knicks’ squad that received 37 points on 56.5% shooting from its bench in Saturday’s series opener.

Push comes to shove, when the Cavaliers and Knicks both have their best five players on the floor, Cleveland boasts a slight edge due to their physicality down low and the pure bonafide scoring threat of Donovan Mitchell, which is reflected in the spread for Game 2; but the edge appears to be very slight, and at times when both teams are forced to dip into their bench, New York tends to own a considerable talent advantage, making it tough for the Cavs to build upon or protect any sort of lead during those stretches.

The Cavaliers are an excellent all-around basketball team, ranked Top 10 in the league in both offensive and defensive rating, 2nd in net rating, however, they prefer to play very slow and heavily rely their twin towers in halfcourt sets, also ranked dead-last in pace; so, when teams are able to ramp up the tempo against them, they quickly become disjointed and fatigued, in turn, forcing them to showcase more of their lackluster gallery of bench players.

The Cavaliers will be in must-win mode at home on Tuesday night. If this series heads to Madison Square Garden for Game 3 with Cleveland trailing 0-2, you can go ahead and punch the Knicks’ ticket to the second round; the stakes are very high for the Cavs in Game 2, and ultimately, I expect to see them bounce back with a win.

They won’t be able to muscle the Knicks' offensively, though, the Cavs' wheelhouse tends to be hard fought defensive battles. So, we should be in for another slugfest, but Cleveland probably comes out on top this time around due to sheer willpower. Game 1 between these teams finished with a final score of 101-97, roughly 15 points south of the point total set for Tuesday’s event. Take the ‘under’ in this one.

Score Prediction: Cavaliers 104, Knicks 101
Best Bet: Under 213.5 (-110)

Take the Under!

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NEW YORK KNICKS vs. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS BETTING ODDS

NEW YORK KNICKS vs. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS BETTING RESOURCES

Date: Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Venue: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
TV-Time: TNT, 7:30 p.m. ET
Matchup
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NBA Finals Betting Odds

NEW YORK KNICKS vs. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS BETTING STATS

New York Knicks
SU: 48-35
ATS: 47-36
O/U: 44-38-1
PPG: 116
OPPG: 113.1

Cleveland Cavaliers
SU: 51-32
ATS: 44-39
O/U: 40-43
PPG: 112.3
OPPG: 106.9

Straight Up (SU), Against the Spread (ATS), Over-Under (O/U)
Points Per Game (PPG), Opponents Points Per Game (OPPG)

Updated on 03/17/2026

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NEW YORK KNICKS vs. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS BETTING TRENDS

• The total has gone OVER in four of New York's last six games.
• The Knicks are 6-2 SU in their last eight games.
• The Knicks are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against Cleveland.
• The Cavs are 1-4-1 ATS in their last six games.
• The total has gone UNDER in four of Cleveland's last five games.
• The Cavs are 12-6 SU in their last 18 games.
• The total has gone UNDER in five of Cleveland's last six home games.
• The Knicks are 4-1 SU in their last five games against Cleveland.
• The Knicks are 6-2 ATS in their last eight road games against Cleveland.
• The total has gone UNDER in five of the last seven matchups between the Knicks and Cavaliers.

Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson