darrell,

1-1 last night but unfortunately the loss was with the 4-star. One pick tonight.

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Good luck , darrell!

Game: Cleveland at Detroit (7:05 PM Eastern)
Pick: 2 stars on Cleveland +11

History has shown us that after a team gets embarrased in game one, they usually perform betting in game two. They play hard to save face while the winner of game one lets down every so slightly after a huge win. These Pistons blew out the Bucks by double digits in game one of their series and the Bucks covered the double-digit spread in game two. The Kings did much the same against the Suprs in game two of their round one series We find a similar situation here with the Cavaliers getting double digit points against the Pistons after a humiliating loss. We were all over Detroit in game one as they were well rested while Cleveland was off two overtime games - the last less than 48 hours in the books at tipoff. Cleveland should be a bit more focused tonight. The Cavaliers, who played better in must-win games against Washington, are 4-1 ATS following an ATS loss and 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games following a straight up loss. Detroit has now shot 52%+ from the field for two straight games. Cleveland shot 41.5% last game. I don't expect that same kind of discrepancy this game. Backing up the letdown theory, top-level favorites (75%+ SU) off two consecutive wins by 10+ points against division rivals are just 6-26 (19%) ATS since 1996. Cleveland to keep it close enough here.