Cleveland Is In Deep Trouble With Star Guard Ailing
Cavs vs Celtics Betting Have Former on the Verge
No Mitchell, big problem. Without their star guard, the Cleveland Cavaliers fought hard against the Boston Celtics but lost 109-102 to sink into a 3-1 deficit in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Cleveland kept hanging around behind 33 points from Darius Garland but the 60 combined points from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum — plus big contributions from Jrue Holiday and Payton Pritchard – gave Boston the win.
The Cavs vs Celtics betting odds for the potential elimination game in Game 5 are incredibly one-sided. Boston is a 15.5-point favorite on the spread and -1700 on the moneyline.
The point total has gone down to 205.5 points after the over cashed by a couple of points on Monday. Garland, Caris LeVert, Evan Mobley, and Max Strus played well. Still, it is apparent how much the talent gap is between the Cavaliers and Celtics without Mitchell. Most NBA teams would struggle to win without their best player so such an offense-needy team like Cleveland was essentially adrift without him.
For the Celtics, you couldn’t blame them if they took their respective feet off the gas pedal, so to speak, with Mitchell sidelined. But, Boston still got the job done despite the game being much closer than people thought. The Celtics threatened to run away with it after taking a double-digit lead in second quarter yet the Cavaliers hung around and even grabbed the lead early in the second half. However, as it always seems to do, Joe Mazzulla’s team flexed its offensive muscles with a big third quarter spurt and timely late-game buckets to keep a frisky Cleveland team away.
Cavaliers at Celtics 
Records: Cleveland Cavaliers (53-40), Boston Celtics (71-20)
Day/Time:
Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Streaming: TNT
Mitchell’s Injury Is Crushing
The Cavaliers are, for lack of a better term, screwed in Game 5. While Mitchell has not been officially ruled out, his chances of playing aren’t good. The calf injury was so bad that he had to miss a crucial Game 4 at home. No wonder the Cavs vs Celtics betting odds are so heavily one-sided.
Cleveland played a lot better on Monday night than it did in Game 3 but, without Mitchell, the Cavaliers needed close to a miracle. Even with the strong contributions from LeVert and Strus — who have been very up-and-down all series — they just didn’t have enough offensive juice to overcome yet another big game from the Celtics’ stars, who are two of the best NBA players.
Also, even if Mitchell can play, he would likely be significantly hampered below his usual ability. While a less-than-100-percent Mitchell is still good, the limits on his cutting and driving ability — not to mention his vertical leap — would force him to play a different type of game. There’s just no way to slice it in a way that makes it look like the Celtics aren’t smart free NBA picks for Wednesday.
Celtics Will Close It Out
Crazier things have happened over the Celtics blowing a close-out game at home against a team missing its best player. But the Cavs vs Celtics betting odds reflect just how little of a chance the Cavs have. Cleveland did just about all it could in Game 4 and kept fighting back yet it still lost.
One of the more telling Cavaliers vs Celtics player stats from Monday was that Cleveland out-assisted Boston 26 to 15. While that is partially due to the free throw disparity (Boston had 24 free throws compared to Cleveland’s seven), it also shows how well the Cavaliers played on offense. The ball was moving and they were getting high-quality shots. The Celtics’ offensive talents can just make plays on their own even when their ball movement isn’t great.
That’s difficult to overcome in the playoffs where the adage goes that the team with the best player on the floor is likely the team that’s going to win. Sometimes, the Cavaliers have had the best player on the floor in this series but when Mitchell is on the bench, they never do.
So, consider laying the points with Boston on Wednesday. The 15.5-point spread is enormous. But it’s tough to imagine Cleveland playing as well as it did in Game 4 without Mitchell. The over of 205.5 points is intriguing as well.
Cavaliers vs Celtics Odds
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