The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking unstoppable. They dominated the Boston Celtics in each of the first two games on the road in the Eastern Conference Finals and will be heavy favorites in Game 3. Cleveland gets to return home for this game and the Celtics may be without star point guard Isaiah Thomas.
Cleveland has yet to lose in the playoffs and some believed Boston would finally prove to be a competitive foe, but the Celtics have not been in the same stratosphere on the first two games. The Cavaliers would love to wrap up this series in the next two games at home which would likely set up an NBA Finals rematch with the Golden State Warriors.
Cleveland had some stumbles through the regular season but is now looking dominant and is expected to roll once again at home in Game 3.
This war on the floor will go down Sunday, May 21, 2017, at 8:30 p.m. ET at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The game will be televised live on TNT.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Sunday schedule.
NBA Odds
The Cavaliers were 5.5-point favorites in Game 2 despite playing on the road and still covered with ease, cruising to the 130-86 win. Cleveland has now covered in both of the first two games of the series as road favorites. The “under” was the correct call despite the Cavs exploding since Boston was pitiful offensively.
Cleveland will be a heavy favorite in Game 3, likely by double digits based on the first two results and Thomas’ injury. Expect the scoring total to come in similarly to where it has been in the first two games of this series.
The Cavaliers are 61-31 straight up and 42-46-4 against the spread. Cleveland is 21-22-2 against the spread at home this season. The Cavaliers are 37-36-4 against the spread as the favorite on the season.
The Celtics are 61-36 straight up and 50-46-1 against the spread. Boston has been much better against the spread on the road than at home this year and hopes that trend will continue. The Celtics have covered in 28-of-49 games away from home this season, pushing once. Boston is 12-13-1 against the spread as the underdog on the year.
Last Time Out
The Cavaliers set an NBA playoff record by outscoring the Celtics by 41 points in the first half to turn this one quickly into a laugher. Cleveland led by 14 points after the first quarter and then outscored Boston 40-13 in the second quarter.
LeBron James scored 30 points, added seven assists and four steals in the romp. His plus-minus was a ridiculous plus-46 in the contest as the Celtics had no answer for him. Kyrie Irving added 23 points while Kevin Love had 21 points and 12 rebounds.
The win was the 13th in a row by the Cavaliers in the postseason, dating back to the three straight they rattled off against the Warriors to win last year’s NBA Finals. They followed that up with a first-round sweep of the Pacers and the second-round sweep of the Raptors this year.
Jaylen Brown had 19 points off the bench for Boston in this one but no one else played well.
Injury Report
Boston’s only real chance to steal a game in Cleveland is if Thomas can play and go on a scoring binge. However, he hurt his hip in Game 2 and didn’t play in the second half.
He only had two points in the game and missed all six of his shots from the field, so it’s fair to wonder how much of an impact he could have if healthy. However, Thomas was one of the elite scorers in the regular season and can put up 40 points in a game when he’s hot.
Check on his availability, because Boston is going to have a lot of trouble scoring without its best shooter on the court.
Free NBA ATS Pick
There is no need to over-think this one. The Cavaliers are the clearly superior team and will enter Game 3 smelling blood, looking to dominate again and roll to the win. James is in superstar mode and is taking over games at will.
If Thomas can play maybe Cleveland will be challenged for a little while, but this one should be a double-digit spread and the Cavs will still cover.
NBA Odds: Cavaliers 114, Celtics 98
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