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Maybe the Detroit Pistons simply needed a wake-up call. They certainly got it in the first round.

A Game 1 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers would give some assurance that all the Eastern No. 1 seed needed was a wake-up call.

My Cavaliers vs. Pistons props and these free NBA picks expect Detroit to prove as much on Tuesday, May 5.

Best Cavaliers vs Pistons props for Game 1

Player	Pick
Cade Cunningham	30+ points	+100
Jarrett Allen	Under 7.5 rebounds	+105
Tobias Harris	Over 17.5 points	+102

Game 1 Prop #1: Cade Cunningham 30+ points

+100 at bet365

As much as a wake-up call, Cade Cunningham needed to get his lungs back. A collapsed lung is obviously nothing to take lightly, and missing three weeks at the end of the regular season certainly cost Cunningham some cardiovascular health.

But as any endurance athlete would tell you, their lungs can get back into shape after only a week or two of work following some inactivity. It is the blessing of all the preceding training.

Cunningham opened the series against the Magic shooting an ugly 42.4% from the field and 28.6% from deep through four games. No wonder the Detroit Pistons trailed 3-1 in that series.

Cunningham closed the series shooting 54.1% from the field and 11-for-18 (61.1%) from deep in the final three games. No wonder the Pistons swept those games. Cunningham averaged 36.3 points in those three games, desperation the mother of innovation, but also boosted by sheer health.

With his lungs back, don’t bet against Cunningham anytime soon.

Game 1 Prop #2: Jarrett Allen Under 7.5 rebounds

+105 at bet365

For a veteran who averaged 8.5 rebounds this season and 9.2 across his career, this is a modest rebounding prop, right? Yet, Jarrett Allen fell short of this number in five of the seven games the Cleveland Cavaliers needed to get by the Raptors.

And now Allen faces a superior rebounding team, one that emphasizes the offensive glass, one that is significantly bigger than Toronto.

Jalen Duren should make Allen’s life miserable in this series, a harsh truth for Cleveland’s future beyond this month.

Game 1 Prop #3: Tobias Harris Over 17.5 points

+102 at bet365

Not to try to give the Magic more credit than they are due, but their injured roster most of the season obscured their defensive possibilities. It was clear once it was healthy in April, that was a defense to worry about.

Cleveland’s defense is not. From the All-Star Break to the end of the regular season, the Cavaliers’ defensive rating sat at No. 18 in the NBA. None of the 12 teams behind the Cavs made the playoffs proper.

Even the shorthanded Magic sat at No. 12 in that stretch.

Tobias Harris cleared this prop in the last five games of the series against Orlando. Even in the first two, he scored 17 and 16 points. He should, quite frankly, feast against a lackluster defense like Cleveland’s.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Sixers ‘stuck in mud' for Game 1 vs. Knicks, aim to repeat Celtics series script  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

NEW YORK — The Sixers played just as the circumstances suggested Monday night.

They looked like a tired team still feeling the effects of a grueling, exhilarating, seven-game first-round playoff series win over the Celtics and not yet ready to compete against the Knicks. The result was a 39-point Game 1 loss.

“I won’t use that as an excuse, but that was an emotional roller coaster (last series),” Paul George said. “One day off and then right back into another matchup. I think there was some carryover with us trying to get up and get prepared for this matchup. But we should’ve come out and done a better job.”

The Sixers’ situation now closely resembles what they faced after a blowout Game 1 loss in Boston. They must improve in many areas. 

New York’s offense never endured a drought. The Knicks finished the night at 63.1 percent from the floor and 51.4 percent from three-point range. Both Joel Embiid (14 points on 3-for-11 shooting) and Tyrese Maxey (13 points on 3-for-9 shooting) were far less productive than usual. 

“We just were kind of stuck in mud at both ends and they put it on us,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. “They had a great shooting night and we didn’t guard well enough. They put it on us.”

Nurse was not at the Sixers’ film session Tuesday morning because he was dealing with a personal matter, a team official said. The Inquirer and The Athletic reported that Nurse was away to attend the funeral services of his brother, Steve Nurse, in Iowa. Of course, such things are bigger than a basketball series. 

Nurse was expected to rejoin the Sixers later Tuesday, according to The Inquirer. Game 2 is Wednesday night and the Sixers don’t sound uncertain about being capable of tying up the series. 

“Confident group,” Kelly Oubre Jr. said Tuesday. “We don’t feel too high or too low. I think that we kind of stay even-keeled. We also know in the back of our heads that we’re always capable of doing better and doing more. We owe it to the city of Philadelphia and to our families to just go out there and put on a better display of basketball.’

While Oubre and the Sixers generally highlighted the problems with their own play in Game 1, Jalen Brunson’s name also popped up plenty.

Brunson torched the Sixers for 35 points, going 12 for 18 from the field and 8 for 8 at the foul line. When Embiid was asked postgame about his own foul drawing in Game 1, he began his response with Brunson. 

“You’ve got to ask Jalen Brunson,” Embiid said. “I don’t think I got to the free throw line as much as I wanted. 

“But that’s not the reason we lost. I think defense was the biggest reason. We just weren’t good enough or physical enough. All their guys were too comfortable. I want to focus on what we could’ve done better on defense.”

And when Oubre fielded a question Tuesday about Brunson being the “head of the snake” for the Knicks’ offense, his reply was … quotable.

“He has a big head,” Oubre said. “It’s definitely tough to guard him with his head doing all that.”

Oubre imitated Brunson bobbing his head around in an effort to draw fouls and create favorable contact.

“He’s a great player,” Oubre continued. “We’ve played against him plenty of times and we have to make the adjustments that we saw on film. Kudos to him. … They did what they had to do at home and it’s up to us to respond.”

None of the Sixers’ opinions on Brunson’s style of play will be relevant Wednesday night.

They’ll need to play sharper defense on him and make a heap of upgrades from Game 1 to keep following the Celtics series script, which included a surprising Game 2 victory in Boston that featured VJ Edgecombe’s 30-point performance.

“They’re a really physical team and they’re good,” Edgecombe said Tuesday. “If we lack physicality and effort, the score’s going to be like that.”

George expects the series to begin in earnest with Game 2.

“Just get settled in,” he said. “Yeah, we had breakdowns tonight, but they also shot the s— out of the ball. … They came out on fire, but it’s a game of adjustments. We’ll make adjustments. 

“It’s the same as last series. They don’t get any extra points (in the series) for going up big tonight.”

Getting it right starts with getting it wrong. It’s true in math, mental health and Madison Square Garden, where last night the New York Knicks took a 1-0 series lead over Philadelphia with a 137-98 shellacking of the 76ers.

Through all the fits and false starts of this season, there were glimpses. Early on the Knicks were an offensive dynamo but struggled to get stops. Then there were periods of defensive dominance. Early in December, they won nine of 10 games; two weeks later, they dropped nine of 11, followed by an eight-game winning streak. All the while, the hares heard the hype. Cleveland got Harden! Look at Boston not even need Tatum! Detroit! Detroit! Detroit!

All the while, the tortoise kept on keeping on. Over the last four games, the tortoise has mutated into the Ninja Turtles. Leonardo, Michaelangelo and Raphael were Games 4-6 versus Atlanta. Last night the Knicks were Donatello: brilliant, focused, and carrying a big stick.

Jalen Brunson reminded everyone with short-term memory loss who’s the best player in the series East. Karl-Anthony Towns continues to look right at home playing point center. Mikal Bridges is playing like he’s worth 10 first-round picks. OG Anunoby is shooting a playoff-record 99% from the field while locking down anyone within reach. Josh Hart is doing 99% of all the things, and doing them well.

What’s different about these Knicks — than any Knick team I’ve seen in my life — is their depth. Miles McBride looks more in-rhythm. Mitchell Robinson looks springy. Ariel Hukporti was terrific backing up KAT and Mitch, who both committed four fouls. Every Knick played and scored besides Jeremy Sochan. Everyone played like they knew their role and it was the role they were born to play.

Contrast that with the opposition. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe combined to shoot 11-of-30. The Sixers were -24 in the 3-point battle. New York had 34 assists to 15 turnovers; Philadelphia had 15 dimes and 19 oopsies. Their bench was outscored by 12. Their starters were outscored by 27. And those are just what the numbers say.

The eye test wasn’t any better, which doesn’t bode well for the Sixers, who’ve mostly stuck with a six-man rotation to get this far. Quentin Grimes had a pissiness about him that suggests he still hasn’t gotten over the end of his time as a Knick, when he complained, “It feels like if I don’t hit the shot, I’m coming out. Every shot I shoot probably weighs like 100 pounds if I don’t make it.” Grimes missed three of his four looks last night but did get 24 minutes of run, so hopefully he’s happy.

At least Grimes mostly kept his issues internal. In just four minutes of playing time, Adem Bona committed five fouls (I think all offensive) and three turnovers, and “committed” is putting it gently. He played like the Kool-Aid man high on bath salts, running through every Knick he could. The Knicks, similar to Game 6 in Atlanta, didn’t let up, even with the game decided by the third quarter. There’s a difference between aggression and anarchy.

Quoth LadyKnick: “It is really surreal . . . similar to the ‘90s Knicks, but more on [offense].” This team really is something special. I know, I know, they’re just “quirky” enough to where you can see them losing Game 2. But they’re also doing things we haven’t seen from any Knick team in the past, or any team, period. Sometimes a win is just a win, a 1-0 lead, the home team handling its business. Sometimes it’s something more.

In 1969 the Knicks hadn’t won a playoff series in 16 years. They opened their postseason against the league’s best team that year, the Baltimore Bullets. The Bullets had never had any success, but landing Earl Monroe and Wes Unseld in consecutive glowed them up from rags to riches. The Knicks won Game 1 in Baltimore impressively, then went on to sweep them. It was a statement win, the birth of the Golden Age in club history.

In 1992 the Knicks were a year removed from a sub-.500 record and an embarrassing first-round sweep. They faced the Pistons in the opening round, a Pistons team that had owned the East the prior five years, winning 15 of 18 series. The Knicks won Game 1 by 34, then went on to win a dogfight. It was a statement win, the birth of the Silver Age in Knick history.

What does last night mean? Depends on what happens tomorrow. If the Knicks slip, the Sixers will take the split as “mission accomplished,” and the Knicks will face two games in Philly MSG West. If they win? Then the joyride continues, and hopefully the surreal never stops.

FIBA Hall of Famer and Puerto Rican basketball legend José ‘Piculin’ Ortiz has passed away at the age of 62. Ortiz was widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Puerto Rican basketball history. He had been battling colorectal cancer since 2023, according to FIBA.

Throughout his career, Ortiz played college basketball for the Oregon State Beavers, averaging 19.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. His performance earned him the Pac-10 Player of the Year honors in 1987. That same year, he made history as the first Puerto Rican player ever selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, going 15th overall to the Utah Jazz. Ortiz went on to play two seasons in the NBA, averaging 2.9 points and 1.1 rebounds over 64 games.

Following his time in the NBA, Ortiz played professional basketball in Europe, with teams in Spain and Greece, before returning to Puerto Rico to continue his career.

Ortiz was a pillar of the Puerto Rican National Team, representing his country in four Olympic Games (1988, 1992, 1996, and 2004) and competing in numerous FIBA World Championships and international tournaments. On August 30, 2019, Ortiz’s contributions were recognized with his induction into the FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honoring a career spanning two decades.

“Today  Puerto Rico loses more than an athlete, it loses a legend,” Puerto Rico’s Basketball Federation told FIBA. “Thank you for all the joys, for representing our flag with pride and for taking the name of our island to the highest. Rest in peace, José “Piculin” Ortiz Rijos. Your legacy will live on every court, with every fan and with every generation that you inspire.”

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