Road to the NBA Finals: NBA Playoff Predictions, Picks for Thunder-Lakers, Pistons-Cavs on Saturday

Two critical Game 3s take place on Saturday, May 9, as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers are both looking to avoid the dreaded 3-0 series deficit.

The Lakers are underdogs at home in the night game on Saturday while Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs are favored after losing – and failing to cover – in Games 1 and 2 against the Detroit Pistons .

Los Angeles is facing an uphill battle against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, but it is 2-0 straight up as a home underdog in the 2026 postseason.

If you’re looking to bet on today’s action, you’ve come to the right place. This postseason, I’m challenging myself to bet on every playoff game in SI Betting’s “Road to the NBA Finals” column. The rules are fairly simple:

Bet on every game through the play-in tournament and playoffs
Bet can be a spread, total, moneyline, player prop or game prop
ENJOY POSTSEASON BASKETBALL!

I’m steering clear of player props – which have been my bread and butter this postseason – and taking one side and one total for Saturday’s action.

So, without further ado, today’s “Road to the NBA Finals” picks!

Detroit Pistons-Cleveland Cavaliers UNDER 211.5 (-110)

Earlier today, I shared in my NBA Best Bets column – Peter’s Points – why I am taking the UNDER for the third game in a row in this series:

For the third game in a row, I’m taking the UNDER in the Cavs-Pistons series.

Cleveland’s offense has not been able to get going in this series, scoring 101 points in Game 1 and just 97 points in Game 2, and the Pistons are now No. 2 amongst playoff teams in defensive rating (103.0).

These teams are also playing at a really slow pace (92.5) over the first two games of this series. Overall, they’re 12th (Detroit) and ninth (Cleveland) in pace so far this postseason.

The Pistons don’t have a great offense, and I don't expect them to shoot the 3-ball as well as they have to open this series. As for Cleveland, this has become the status quo in the second round, only this time it’s James Harden and Evan Mobley failing to live up to their billing as scorers.

Detroit has hit the UNDER in 55.8 percent of its road games while the Cavs are 25-20 to the UNDER at home. I think this series continues to be played at a pretty slow pace, after these squads combined for 212 and 204 points in Games 1 and 2.

Oklahoma City Thunder -8.5 (-110) vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Even though Oklahoma City is going on the road for Game 3, I think this spread is way too short for a team that has won all six games against the Lakers in the 2025-26 season by nine or more points.

The Thunder have back-to-back 18-point wins, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t even played at his peak level in this series. The star guard scored just 18 points in Game 1, and foul trouble limited his minutes (and scoring) in Game 2.

Still, OKC’s depth has proven to be the biggest difference in this series, and the Lakers simply don’t have enough offensive firepower with Doncic banged up.

There’s a chance the Lakers’ role guys look better at home, but both Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura have played at a high level this postseason, and Hachimura was great shooting the ball in Games 1 and 2.

OKC has a net rating of plus-18.0 in the playoffs, and it has won every game by nine points. I don’t see that changing in Game 3 with the Lakers still at less than 100 percent.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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