“We’ve seen Cleveland and the over, and how they’ve started the series, it’s hard to not just like the Cavs.”

USA Today Images

If the NBA Playoffs’ Eastern Conference finals are going to get even remotely interesting, something has got to modify Saturday night in Toronto. Covers talks in regards to the matchup with Johnny Avello, executive director of race and sports for Wynn Las Vegas; Aaron Kessler, supervisor of the Golden Nugget sportsbook; and John Lester, senior lines manager for online site Bookmaker.eu.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors – Open: Cavaliers -4.5; Move: Cavaliers -6

The Cavaliers hammered Toronto in Games 1 and 2, easily winning and cashing as double-digit favorites in both contests. On Thursday night, Cleveland rolled 108-89 as an 11.5-point chalk, and bettors are greater than convinced that there’s just one team worth backing on this best-of-7 series.

“It’s been all Cavs money,” Avello said of action on the Wynn. “They’ve been dominating the primary two games of the series, or even before that, they’ve been dominating within the playoffs.”

Indeed, Cleveland is now 10-0 SU and a stout 7-3 ATS within the postseason.

Downtown on the Golden Nugget, the number opened at 5.5 and fixed there until late this morning before moving to 6.

“We’ve seen Cleveland and the over, and how they’ve started the series, it’s hard to not just like the Cavs,” Kessler said.

Bookmaker opened the Cavaliers at -5 and is now at -5.5 amid a glut of Cleveland wagers.

“After the primary two blowouts, the general public is everywhere Cleveland,” Lester said. “But we've only adjusted a half-point toward the visitor, as we're seeing a couple of smart bets at the home ‘dog.”

Like Kessler, Lester said the over was popular, too.

“We've seen around three-quarters of the wagers at the over and thus have bumped the number up some degree to 198.5,” Lester said. “We are anticipating some under money to bring this back toward the open as tipoff approaches.”

Patrick Everson is a Las Vegas-based senior writer for Covers. Follow him on Twitter: @Covers Vegas.

Read More... [Source: Covers.com: NBA News and Stories]