Schedule makers simply just look like geniuses sometimes. The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers have been the two best teams in the Eastern Conference all season long. Boston holds a half-game lead over the Cavs for the top seed in the conference, but that could all but be erased if Cleveland wins at home versus Orlando before jumping on a plane for Beantown. This game is essentially for the East’s No. 1 seed!
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Odds Analysis
It’s been an ugly run for the defending champs as the season comes to a close. LeBron James and his mates have only split their last 10 games, but more importantly, have only found a way to cover two of those games against the closing number. They just failed to cover versus Indiana in a game that had no business going to overtime. As a visitor, Tyronn Lue’s squad has been horrendous in going 15-23 against the spread and gone 1-5 in their last six.
It hasn’t been pretty for the Celtics down the home stretch either. Though they’ve done a better job winning the games outright ( 7-3 L/10 ), they’ve only accrued four covers during that stretch and just put an end to a four-game losing streak to the linemakers by taking care of business against a beat down New York team last time out. As a host, Brad Stevens’ troops sit six games under .500 against the spread.
Scheduling Situation
Boston holds a huge advantage in this department entering this tilt. They will have had two-plus days to get their bodies and minds right for this epic clash after taking the Knicks down Sunday afternoon. The same can’t be said for the Cavaliers who will be playing their third game in four days as well as a second straight after hosting Orlando on Tuesday night. While it’s owned the C’s in winning two of the three meetings this season as well as eight of the last 10, Cleveland checks in a bankroll busting 6-10 straight up and 5-11 against the spread when playing unrested for the year.
Injury Report
Kyle Korver – Though the Cavs’ 3-point shooting hasn’t been effected in wins against Philly and Indiana, neither of those clubs march the type of long range defense Boston trots out to the court. In fact, there’s only one team in the league better at defending the arc than the Celtics who’ve limited all opposition to a paltry 33.3 percent success rate from distance. Korver’s long range prowess will be missed if he can’t suit up.
Jae Crowder – The Celtics big man is an integral component to the team’s success in the paint and is an overall sparkplug. He was forced to leave Sunday’s tilt with the Knicks due to a sore left elbow, and if he’s unable to give it a go, Boston will be down a major component to their attack at both ends of the court. He’s combined for 30 points and 14 rebounds the two times he faced Cleveland this season. The game he missed, the Cavs came out on top 128-122 and Boston found itself down by as many as 20 points.
Free NBA ATS Picks
Are the Cavs playing possum, or are there really this many chinks to the defending champ’s armor? I’m thinking it’s a mixture of both, but I’m willing to throw caution to the wind here and expect them to do what it takes to find a way to win this pressure cooker of a game. Sure, the scheduling isn’t in their favor and they’ve been dogs on the road of late, but we’re about to enter the money season and that’s when King James normally rises to the occasion. Boston has a nice team and the franchise has done a great job getting the franchise back to this level, but the Cavs are still the best the conference has to offer. Until they’re actually dethroned, I won’t bet against it occurring.
NBA Odds: Cleveland 110 – Boston 105
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