NBA Best Bets and Bold Predictions: Cavaliers vs. Celtics
The Cavaliers are heavy underdogs at TD Garden on the second night of a back-to-back in their first game of the season against the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics.
Boston (16–5) is 10–0 at home this season and heads into Tuesday with a huge rest advantage over its opponent. The C’s have a clean injury report but the Cavs (13–10) could again be without Evan Mobley (knee) and Caris LeVert (knee), their third- and fourth-leading scorers. They both missed Monday’s 104–94 loss to the Magic. Kristaps Porzingis (calf) returned from a four-game absence in Boston’s 133–123 win over the Knicks on Friday, which saw six Celtics players finish in double figures.
Cleveland won the season series 3–1 a season ago — all three Cavaliers wins were in overtime. These teams will meet again just two nights from now but they won’t play again until March.
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Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics Odds
Spread: Cavaliers +9.5 (-105) | Celtics -9.5 (-118)
Moneyline: CLE (+380) | BOS (-549)
Total: 223.5 — Over (-118) | Under (-110)
Game Info: Tuesday, Dec. 12 | 7:30 p.m. ET
Best Bet: Under 223.5 (-110)
Bold Prediction: Cavaliers Score Fewer Than 100 Points
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Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell combined for 58 points in Cleveland’s loss to Orlando, but they didn’t get much help from the supporting cast. Tristan Thompson was the only other Cavalier to finish with 10-plus points. Poor three-point shooting (9–40) didn’t help matters on the road against a hot Magic team.
Boston’s defensive rating is on par with that of Orlando and it also ranks top 10 in offensive rating. A healthy starting five of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Porzingis has been a tough out all year, especially at TD Garden. That was the case in the Celtics’ win over the Knicks, which saw White lead the way with a game-high 30 points and the entire team had a hot shooting night from outside (19–47).
The under has hit more often than not for both Cleveland and Boston this season and the Cavs have failed to hit triple digits twice in their last five games while the Celtics held the Bulls under 100 two weeks ago in a dominant home win. Even as Cleveland struggles to score, it still boasts a top-10 defense of its own, which will help keep this game from going over.
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