If the first meeting of the season between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers is any indication the reigning Eastern Conference champions are in for another workout. The teams met last week in the Garden with the Cavs getting 41 points each from their starting backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Caris LaVert in a 132-123 overtime victory. It was the fourth straight win and payout for the Cavs after a season-opening loss to Toronto.
The contest between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers takes place at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland and will air live on ESPN. BookMaker.eu will have odds for every game on the Wednesday NBA schedule.
NBA Opening Lines at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
With all the turmoil surrounding the Celtics, the beginning of the season is going to be an interesting time. They looked good walloping Philadelphia in the opener and got by Miami on the road earning a couple of payouts. The next three outings were a little different. They got by Orlando 126-120 in the second of a back-to-back failing to cover the 9-point spread then fell hard to the Bulls before the collapse against Cleveland going 0-3 ATS in those games.
The early part of the season has the Cavs as one of the most profitable teams in the NBA with a 4-1 ATS record. Following their opening loss to Toronto the Cavs posted double-digit wins over Chicago, Washington and Orlando before their showdown with Boston. Falling in an early hole the Cavs responded with an explosive second half for their biggest win of the season to date. They improved to 4-0 SU and ATS in that span.
Boston Celtics
A staple of the Celtics has always been their ability to play defense. They have a number of capable scorers but their defense sparked a run to the NBA Finals last season and was a major part of their recent playoff success. Well, that part of the game has been lacking in the early season. The Celtics yielded a season-high 132 points to the Cavs and allowed 120 in each of the previous two. They rank 28th out of 30 teams in defensive rating while giving up nearly 119 points per game. They’ve gone over the total in three of their first five games but in just one of three on the road.
While they’ve been good on offense they weren’t good enough against the Cavs or Bulls. They bounced back from a poor shooting night in Chicago when they hit only 37 percent of their field goals by torching the nets at 51 percent against Cleveland’s top ranked defense. The only problem was that the Cs had a hard time stopping anyone. Boston follows the lead of Jayson Tatum, who averages 32.4 points after dropping 32 on the Cavs. He’s gone over 30 points three times in five games with the Celtics cashing the OVER in those three contests.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Bucks might have a challenge for their fifth straight Central Division crown. Acquiring Mitchell to go along with a young, vibrant core has fans in Cleveland excited about their club for the first time since LeBron James was still in town. Mitchell has been as advertised and more averaging 31 points following his 41-point outburst against the Celtics. Never a prolific three-point shooter during his years in Utah, that part of his game has blossomed. He’s made at least four triples in three of his first five games and shoots 40.5 percent from behind the arc. As a team the Cavs lead the NBA connecting on 41.7 percent of their treys.
In a little twist it’s the Cavs who have been the better defensive team, though it didn’t really show when the clubs met last week. Cleveland did clamp down in the second half of that game limiting Boston to 48 points after halftime, 27 fewer than what they surrendered in the first half. It allowed Mitchell and LaVert to take the game over leading to a comeback from a 15-point deficit. The Cavs allow just over 105 points a game with the third-best defensive rating.
NBA Odds Pick
I think last week’s game was the exception and not the norm for these clubs. Things got a little out of hand when the Celtics went wild in the first half and forgot how to play defense in the second. Cleveland looks like the real deal and now that the Celtics had a look at them they should know what to expect. And I expect Boston to answer for that loss.
NBA Odds Prediction: Boston Celtics / UNDER
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