Boston Celtics vs Cleveland Cavaliers betting tips and predictions for Friday’s NBA Game on NBA League Pass. It’s a big game in the Eastern Conference as the Boston Celtics look to remain undefeated at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Boston Celtics
Boston is coming off it’s first loss of the young season after a 120-102 defeat on the road in Chicago which ended a mini 3-game road trip. Tonight they return home where they are 1-0 on the season after beating Philadelphia on opening night. This team has played similarly to what we saw in the playoffs last year, not having head coach Ime Udoka around hasn’t hindered them any bit.
Jayson Tatum has upped his game to a whole new level averaging 32.5 points per game while shooting 55% from the field and making over 90% of his free throws. He was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week and is already making noise as one of the frontrunners for the MVP award. Beating Cleveland tonight would certainly add to his case, the Celtics opened as 5.5 favorites despite not having Grant Williams at their disposal as he sits this one out due to a suspension. They’ve beaten the Cavs in 6 straight home games and also have a 4-1 SU record in their last 5 games vs Eastern Conference teams.
Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron’s old team is also off to a hot start and currently on a mini 3-game winning streak following wins over Chicago, Washington and Orland by an average of 17.6 points per game. They are doing all this without Darius Garland who is still out with an eye injury he suffered in the first game against Toronto. A big reason for their success so far has been the play of Donovan Mitchell who is carrying the scoring load with 28.5 points per game.
It’s not only him that’s stepped up though as 4 other players are averaging double-digit points, including Cedi Osman who is coming off the bench and scoring 15.5 per game. The improvements on defense are also visible, having Jarrett Allen at their disposal makes it really hard for the opposing teams to score on them. Winning at Boston is no easy task, but one stat that gives the Cavs optimism here is their 10-4 ATS record in their last 14 games played on a Friday. They are also 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall, I can definitely see them keeping this game close.
I’d give the edge to Boston here, but just a small one. It’s still early in the season, Cleveland has looked really good so far and they have the roster to keep this a close game. Let’s back the road team and the extra points.
Boston Celtics vs Cleveland Cavaliers Predictions & Odds
Defense has been the stable for both teams in recent head-to-head meetings as only an average of 214.3 points have been scored over the last 10 meetings. The O/U has gone 5-5 during that stretch, while neither team is shooting the ball particularly well in those games. I am expecting a similar game tonight as both teams are playing at a slow pace. Cleveland ranks 27th averaging 98.6 possessions while the Celtics are just two spots above them in 25th with 99.7 possessions per game.
Combine that with Cleveland’s defensive rating of 100 which is only 2nd in the NBA to the Milwaukee Bucks, the writing is on the wall. The last time they played each other in Boston the final score was 111-101 and in the two games prior to that neither team was able to crack the 100 point mark. Cavs have gone under the total in 5 games straight against Atlantic Division teams, while the Celtics have done so in 6 of 8 vs Central Division opponents. Let’s back the under here.
