Celtics Go for Twelve Straight in Cleveland
Celtics vs Cavaliers Spreads, Odds and MoreÂ
The stage is set for an Eastern Conference showdown between the #1 seed Boston Celtics and the #3 seed Cleveland Cavaliers this Tuesday night. The Celtics, currently the league’s best team, will look to push their winning streak to twelve.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers will attempt to assert themselves against their Eastern Conference superiors and show they are a real threat to win the East this May.
Lines have opened with Boston being favorites on the road at Boston -6.5, total set at 219.5. Let’s dive into this matchup and see what we can learn about Celtics vs Cavaliers spreads, NBA matchups and bets.
Celtics vs Cavaliers 
Day/Time:
Records: Celtics (48-12)/Cavaliers (39-20)
Location: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
Streaming: TNT
Boston’s Beautiful Game
There isn’t much room for debate that the Boston Celtics are the best team in basketball. The NBA leaderboard will tell you: the Celtics have the top record in the league, are first in offensive rating, second in defense rating, and now have one of the largest point differentials of all time.
Their offseason acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis is going better than anyone could have imagined, and they are currently on an eleven-game win streak.
Boston Celtics now have a +11.4 point differential.
How great it is?
The 5th highest in NBA history: pic.twitter.com/bp90de6esv
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) March 3, 2024
On top of all of that, they destroyed the Golden State Warriors (who bested them in the 2022 NBA Finals) on Sunday by 52 points. They played Sunday’s game without their 3rd star Porzingis, and it didn’t even matter.
If Porzingis is also not available to play this Tuesday, don’t expect it to weaken their chances much. The Celtics are currently 12-3 in games without their star big man.
In their last six games, the Celtics are 6-0 ATS and 2-4 on totals. The Celtics have turned up the notch on defense since the all-star break.
In Boston’s last six games, they are only allowing opponents to score 99.5 points per game (the league average is 115 points per game), defensive dominance at its finest. Look for the Celtics to lock in on defense again this Tuesday and keep the game low-scoring.
Cavaliers Want Redemption
Last year, in the Cavalier’s first 50-win season since Lebron James left (again), their season came to a disappointing end, losing to the New York Knicks in the first round of the NBA East playoffs. In response, Cleveland has been amazing this season.
Even while overcoming injuries to almost all of their stars, the Cavs are the league’s third-best defense and are sitting comfortably in the top three of the eastern side of the NBA bracket.
The only potential worry for Cavaliers fans is the current health status of their top NBA player Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell has missed four of the team’s last seven games including a disappointing loss at home to the injury-riddled New York Knicks on Sunday night.
Without Mitchell, the Cavs are 7-6 on the season and are only scoring 109.5 points per game down from their usual 114.6 ppg. This combined with Celtic’s incredible defense over the last few weeks will make this one of the toughest home games of the NBA season for Cleveland (with or without Mitchell in the lineup).
Boston is Simply Too Good
The Celtics vs Cavaliers spreads are currently set at Celtics -6.5 and the over/under total is set at 219.5. The Celtics are currently 30-27-3 against the spread and 23-31-1 on totals while the Cavaliers are 29-31 ATS and 26-33-1 on totals.
Their first two matchups this year resulted in two Boston wins in TD Garden; one game hit the over and the other under and each NBA team covered the spread once respectively.
The biggest issue for the Cavaliers in these losses was turnovers. They averaged 17.5 in both losses which is up from their season average of 13.46.
Taking the over on steals for Boston’s best defenders Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, or Jaylen Brown (or the team’s total steals) could be an interesting play. Brown has had at least one steal in the last six straight games.
Depending on NBA injuries, bet on Boston to keep up the stellar defense and stay undefeated this season against the Cavs. The spread of -6.5 seems reasonable the way Boston is playing, but Boston’s money-line may be a safer play for the Boston optimists, this one could be close.
The under at 219.5 is also interesting in this matchup as these two teams generally go under and are two of the top-rated defenses in the league.
Take these Celtics vs Cavaliers spreads and tune in to find out what will happen in Tuesday’s clash between Eastern Conference foes.
Celtics vs Cavaliers Spreads
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