The Heat face off against the Cavaliers in Game 2 of their first round Eastern Conference Playoff series on Wednesday night, and we'll be targeting one of these two teams to have a strong first-quarter performance in tonight's matchup.
Continue below for my NBA first quarter prop bet for Heat vs. Cavaliers on Wednesday, April 23.
NBA First Quarter Prop Bet for Cavaliers vs. Heat Game 2
- Cavaliers First Quarter Spread -3.5 (-115)
Cavaliers First Quarter -3.5 (-115)
Cavaliers vs Heat, 7:30 p.m. ET
The Cavaliers ranked 3rd in the league in first-quarter net rating in the regular season. They led the league with a 20.0 first-quarter net rating at home.
The Cavs' primary starting lineup of Donovan Mitchell/Jarrett Allen/Max Strus/Darius Garland/Evan Mobley had an excellent 12.5 net rating across 243 minutes. Ty Jerome has been incredible leading the bench unit and finished 3rd in 6th Man of the Year voting.
Miami was solid in the first quarter this season, ranking 9th in net rating. The current iteration of their primary lineup has struggled, though.
The Andrew Wiggins/Bam Adebayo/Tyler Herro/Davion Mitchell/Kel'el Ware group has a -1.5 net rating. Alec Burks will likely draw the start, but hit the bench pretty quick with Mitchell subbing in.
Cleveland should have an advantage over this lineup early in Game 2, especially playing at home.
Pick: Cavaliers First Quarter Spread -3.5 (-115)
Wednesday's NBA First Quarter Prop Bet
- Cavaliers 1Q -3.5 (-115)
