Sunday wraps up one series and starts another. Fresh off sweeping the Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers open the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Indiana Pacers, who similarly looked dominant against Milwaukee Bucks during the last round. Game 1 starts at 6 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets are down to Game 7, with the winner headed to face the Minnesota Timberwolves. They’ll face off at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Now that the 2025 NBA postseason has begun, the basketball betting market is hotter than ever. CBS Sports will be providing daily picks for the duration of the postseason. Sam Quinn will make at least one pick for every game between now and the NBA Finals.
The Cavaliers just had the best offensive series in NBA history, posting an absolutely bonkers 136.2 offensive rating against the Miami Heat. The second-best offense of the playoffs so far belongs to the Indiana Pacers, and while a lot of that success comes down to Milwaukee’s awful defense, this has still been an excellent offense for two years now. Both of these teams are rested after dispatching their first-round opponents quickly. Both have exploitable holes. The Pacers need Tyrese Haliburton, but the Cavaliers can hunt him in pick-and-roll as they did Tyler Herro a round ago. Cleveland’s role players tend to lean more towards offense than defense, and until the Pacers force Kenny Atkinson to lean on the defenders, he’s shown an inclination towards maximizing shooting at all costs. This should be a very high-scoring Game 1. The Pick: Over 229.5
It might seem odd to hone in on a role player in Game 7, but here goes. Zone defenses are especially susceptible to 3-point shooting. Houston’s zone is geared specifically towards slowing down Stephen Curry as a hybrid 2-3 zone and box-and-one scheme, so he’s out. We’re looking for someone who’s going to take a bunch of 3-pointers without attracting too much defensive attention. That’s Brandin Podziemski, who is averaging one 3-point attempt for every 4.6 minutes he plays in this series. The Gary Payton II experiment failed in Game 6. I’m expecting Podziemski to reclaim his starting spot and play 30-35 minutes. That’s seven or eight 3-point attempts, and considering how comfortable he’s looked on the playoff stage, I trust him to make two of them. The Pick: Brandin Podziemski Over 1.5 Made 3-Pointers
