Cavaliers vs. Magic odds: NBA picks, predictions from an expert on a sizzling 21-7 run - CBSSports.com

The Orlando Magic host the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET as LeBron James and Co. look to get back on track after a forgettable stretch. The Cavaliers are favored by seven points. The over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is at 222.5, up 1.5 points from the open.

Can the Cavs right the ship before it's too late? SportsLine expert Galin Dragiev has a thought about that. Dragiev is SportsLine's hottest NBA expert, successful on 21 of his past 28 NBA picks!

Dragiev, a veteran fantasy sports writer, learned to predict the outcome of the game before determining how success trickles down to individual players. His 75 percent streak is a testament to that strategy.

Dragiev has found a big reason to lean strongly to one side in Tuesday's amatchup. You can see which team he's backing, and why, at SportsLine.

The Cavs were expected to be the class of the Eastern Conference, but that hasn't been the case. Cleveland is just 6-12 since losing to Golden State on Christmas Day and is 30-21 overall, 7.5 games behind the Celtics in the East.

The Cavs are a pedestrian 6-6 when marquee offseason addition Isaiah Thomas suits up, and now All-Star forward Kevin Love is out six to eight weeks with a broken hand.

Things hit rock-bottom in their previous game, a 120-88 home beatdown from the Rockets on Saturday. James didn't even play in the fourth quarter.

But Orlando enters Tuesday's game with the NBA's worst record and is in firesale mode, with top players Aaron Gordon (team-high 18.4 points and 8.3 rebounds) and Elfrid Payton (13.2 points. 6.2 assists) on the trade block.

The Cavs have won nine straight at Orlando and are 19-1 in their past 20 overall against the Magic. They've won two of three this season, including a 131-127 decision in Orlando on Jan. 6.

But Cleveland has covered the spread just three times in 16 games as a road favorite.

So what side of Cavs-Magic do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see what the x-factor in this matchup will be and get Dragiev's strong against-the-spread pick of Cavaliers-Magic, all from an expert on a sizzling 21-7 NBA run! 

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