It’s all come down to one game to decide who will go the NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics will host the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 tonight at TD Garden and the luxury of playing in front of home fans could be the difference in who advances and who goes home. The Celtics have been unbeatable in Bean Town in the postseason, going 10-0 SU and ATS in 10 playoff games with an average win margin of 11.7 points per game. Will the Celtics young legs prevail vs LeBron and the Cavaliers? Sportsbooks seem to think so and opened with Boston as a 2-point favorite to close out the series.
- Cleveland is 18-7 SU in last 25 games vs Boston.
- The total has gone UNDER in four of the last six games in this matchup.
- The Celtics have never lost a series they've led 2-0.
What the Boston Celtics are doing in these playoffs will go down as one of most surprising achievements in NBA history. To have two perennial all-stars in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward sidelined and be one victory away from making the NBA Finals is unprecedented. And while most of the credit can go to head coach Brad Stevens, it’s the emergence of players like Terry Rozier and Jayson Tatum that has Boston setup for years to come. These two are averaging a combined 35 points per game in the postseason and showing that depth can still carry a team far in a quest for a championship.
An overused metaphor for how the Celtics have played in the playoffs is “night and day” – in this case, how they perform at home vs the road. At home, Boston averages 107 points per game but on the road that figure drops to 95. In three home games in this series, the Celtics ability to defend the perimeter is ion full display as evidenced by the Cavaliers only managing to connect on 24 percent from three-point range (23 for 94) on the road in this series.
For the Cavaliers, the night and day reference could also apply to them but it doesn’t apply to LeBron. The King had one game below his standards in Game 1 when he only managed 15 points but since then has had three 40-point games in Games 2, 4 and 6. Cleveland (and bettors) is not worried about if LeBron will show up but more curious about the supporting cast.
The only way the Cavs win this game is if they get a huge scoring outburst from the likes of Kyle Korver or JR Smith and neither of those players have cracked 10 points in Boston in this series. Another factor that looms large for the Cavaliers is the absence of Kevin Love, who has been ruled out of Game 7 with a concussion. It’s very hard to bet against LeBron but with Cleveland’s road performances in the playoffs, I can’t endorse a Cavaliers moneyline pick.
The total opened at 199.5 and the UNDER could be the profitable wager in Game 7. The UNDER has hit in all three games in Boston in this series with an average combined score of 190.3 points per game.
Sportsbook Odds & Computer Pick
Those looking to pick the visitors as their prediction to cover in this one found the Cleveland Cavaliers listed as 2-point underdogs earlier at Sportsbook. Meanwhile, the OVER/UNDER total betting line for this game was set at 201.5 at Sportsbook but may have moved since the betting odds opened.
Handicapping prediction models run by the computers at Odds Shark pick a 107-98 result in favor of the Celtics. View the computer score prediction and who will win the pick on the moneyline for all upcoming NBA matchups here.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to vanquish their hosts on Sunday, as they are 39-59-1 ATS versus the spread this season, while the Boston Celtics are 62-36-2 ATS. Cleveland is 47-50-2 against the points scored total betting line, while Boston is 52-47-1 versus the line. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Boston vs Cleveland injuries news.
The betting Power Rankings at Odds Shark have the No. 8-rated Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the No. 11-rated Boston Celtics in this NBA contest.
Statistical Matchup
Offensively the game matches up Boston's No. 22-ranked offense (103.76 PPG) against a Cleveland Cavaliers defense that ranks No. 22 at 108.42 PPG. The Boston Celtics have averaged 44.91% from the field per game, less than the Cleveland Cavaliers have managed so far this NBA season (47.36% on average).
Recent Outings Betting Recap
- Cleveland is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland's last 6 games
- Cleveland is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
- Cleveland is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
- Boston is 13-6 ATS in its last 19 games
- Boston is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games
- Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Next Betting Matchups
Cleveland home to , Wednesday, December 31st
Boston home to , Wednesday, December 31st
