NBA Playoffs: Cavaliers vs Celtics Preview & Odds
Celtics Are On Cruise Control
If the Cleveland Cavaliers want to pull off an incredibly improbable upset in their second round series against the Boston Celtics, they’re going to need to put forth a much better effort than they did in Tuesday’s Game 1. The Celtics crushed the Cavaliers, easily winning 120-95 in a game that was relatively close at halftime but turned into a blowout after the break. Game 2 is set for Thursday night and, as this Cavaliers vs Celtics preview will attest, it’s desperation time for Cleveland as Boston is a 13.5-point favorite on the spread and huge -1000 moneyline favorite.
The Celtics got out to a quick start in Game 1, taking a 12-2 lead and scoring 40 first quarter points as Cleveland hung around. Both teams went cold in the second quarter but Boston was still able to head into halftime up by 10. Joe Mazzulla’s squad kept trying to put the Cavaliers away for good yet wasn’t able to do so until a Payton Pritchard three right at the end of the third gave Boston what turned out to be an insurmountable 15-point cushion. There’s a reason the Celtics are front and center in the NBA playoff picture.
Jaylen Brown led the way with 32 points and Derrick White had 25, making up for a brutal shooting game from Jayson Tatum (7-for-19 from the field for 18 points). Pritchard (16 points) added a big boost off the bench as the only Boston reserve to score more than four points. Unsurprisingly, Donovan Mitchell (33 points) shouldered most of the offensive burden for Cleveland with Evan Mobley posting a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double. But, the Cavaliers only had 15 bench points and sorely missed the presence of Jarrett Allen on both ends of the floor.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics 
Location: TD Garden; Boston, Massachusetts
Day/Time: Streaming: TNT
Rebounding Is A Problem For Cleveland
The total rebound and offensive rebound disparities weren’t the reason why the Cavaliers lost by 25 points to the Celtics on Tuesday — Boston making 18 threes and Cleveland shooting just 41 percent from the field were — but they certainly didn’t help. The Celtics had 13 offensive rebounds to the Cavaliers’ seven with Luke Kornet accounting for six on his own. Accordingly, Boston won the rebounding battle 55-38, preventing Cleveland from getting easy second-chance looks to try and keep up scoring-wise.
Any Cavaliers vs Celtics preview needs to note that the Celtics don’t have Kristaps Porzingis just like how the Cavaliers don’t have Allen. However, Porzingis only played 57 games during the regular season so Boston is used to playing without him and has the alternative scorers to make up for his absence. Allen played 77 games during the regular season and brings size, rebounding, and defense that Cleveland isn’t used to being without and isn’t able to replicate in any way.
So, Cleveland is at a pretty big disadvantage at full strength and the injury trade of Porzingis for Allen makes things even worse. That’s a major reason why siding with Boston — even as a huge favorite — is one of the best NBA bets today.
Tatum Will Bounce Back
Maybe the scariest thing for the Cavaliers is that they got crushed in Game 1 and Tatum didn’t play particularly well. You just know that he is going to get shots to fall in this series and, with how good both he and the Celtics are at home, there’s a solid chance he gets going in Game 2.
While he has had his struggles in key playoff games before, this Cavaliers vs Celtics preview has to acknowledge how dominant he can be when he gets going downhill because that seems to open up his perimeter game.
Not having Allen to anchor the defense at the rim should make life a lot easier for Tatum if he decides to get aggressive. “If” is the operative word there because he does sometimes get too jumper-happy and that limits his effectiveness — just look at Tuesday’s stats. He’s a good enough, and smart enough, player to know that his team needs to him pushing the envelope and not giving the defense a break by settling for contested threes when they aren’t falling.
He’ll make the adjustment as he did throughout a season in which the Rangers wound up at the top of the East NBA standings.
Ride With Boston Again
If you laid the points with the Celtics on Tuesday night, you were a winner and you should do it again on Thursday night even though the spread has grown to 13.5 points. Boston should skate through Game 2 at home like it did most of the games in the Heat series.
Now, it might not be worth it to consider taking the Celtics straight-up on the moneyline as -1000 favorites nor would it be wise to go with the Cavaliers for value purposes as +600 underdogs. But, if you’re setting up a parlay, it couldn’t hurt to throw Boston moneyline in there to bring the value up.
Also, the point total has jumped up by five points to 213.5 after it easily cleared on Tuesday. It might be smart to go with the under (at -110) because that jump could be an overcorrection with how enigmatic the Cavaliers’ offense can be.
Cavaliers vs Celtics Odds
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