Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics betting tips and predictions for Wednesday’s NBA Game on ESPN. It’s a re-match between two Eastern Conference foes as the Cavaliers and Celtics lock horns for already the 2nd time this season. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland has been performing above expectations and currently sit 2nd in the Eastern Conference only behind the unbeaten Milwaukee Bucks. And they are doing all this without their best player from last season Darius Garland who is still out with an eye injury he sustained in their season opener. Garland could make a return at some point this week, so the question is will that disrupt their chemistry or will he fit right in?
Donovan Mitchell has been playing out of this world averaging 32.2 points per game on almost 50% from the field, he is the main reason why the Cavs are this high up in the standings. He had 41 points in the win over Boston a few days ago on the road, does he have it in him to repeat that performance tonight? The Cavs have covered in 5 of 6 games vs Eastern Conference opponents, plus they are also 13-7 SU in the last 20 head-to-head against Boston on their home floor.
Boston Celtics
The Eastern Conference champs have been a bit disappointing over their first 6 games winning 4 of them. In particular, the defense has been a letdown, but that was to be expected as their defensive anchor Robert Williams is out after having knee surgery. He is not expected back until at least January, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Celtics can improve on that end of the floor without him. After conceding 120 or more points in 3 straight games, they were finally able to hold a team to under 100 points as they beat Washington 112-94.
The Wizards shot under 40% from the field and just 22% from three, I think it’s pretty obvious that if the Celtics continue playing that way they can get far this season. They’ll need all the defense they can get against this Cavs team as they let in 132 points the last time they faced them. The good news is they are 11-4 SU in the last 15 meetings overall and they’ve also beaten 5 of their last 7 East opponents.
I’m expecting another tight game, but with revenge on their mind I’m giving he Celtics a bit of an edge here. Garland returning could mess things up a bit for the Cavs as it’s never easy implementing new players, especially when you are on a roll. Give me the Celtics to cover here.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics Predictions & Odds
These two teams are scoring at a very high level so far this season, which isn’t really surprising considering the amount of talent on each roster. Both of them rank in the 5 when it comes to offensive efficiency, so it could be yet another high scoring game just like we saw a couple of days ago when they combined for 255 points. The acquisition of Mitchell has lifted the Cavaliers from mediocrity to a top 5 offensive rating team in the NBA.
In terms of pace they’ve also speed things up a bit this year and right now they rank 15th in the NBA averaging 99.1 possessions per game. As a result the total has gone over in 4 of their last 5 games. Boston also ranks in the upper echelon when it comes to pace of play averaging 99.5 possessions per game, good enough for 13th place. With the two teams averaging 117.6 and 117 points per game, I think our best bet here is to go with the points, so let’s back the over.
