NBA Playoffs – Cavs vs Celtics game 2
The NBA Playoffs continue Tuesday night when the Boston Celtics — after shocking the public with their blowout 108-83 win in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals — host the Cleveland Cavaliers for game 2 of their best-of-seven series. Can the Cavaliers bounce back on the road to tie the series at 1 game apiece?
Let’s take a closer look at where the value’s at in this match.
NBA Odds
Spread/Team to Win
- Cleveland Cavaliers +0.5: 1.98
- Boston Celtics -0.5: 1.91
Total
- OVER 202.5: 1.90
- UNDER 202.5: 1.98
What to Watch For
Two-Way Player: Marcus Morris came up huge on both ends of the floor in game 1. He guarded James for the majority of the night, holding him to just 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the field. On the other end, he chipped in with 21 points and 10 rebounds to help Boston get a win.
Morris is projected to finish game 2 with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
Betting on the Spread: Odds for the Cavaliers covering — at 1.98 — indicate there’s about a 50.5 the Cavs lose by 0.5 points or less (essentially win the game). The Cavs win about 57 percent of AccuScore sims.
The average score after 10,000 simulations is 106-102.5, in favor of the road team.
Cavs’ Shooting Woes: Cleveland was absolutely horrible from beyond the arc in game 1, finishing just 4-of-26 from three-point range. They’re projected to shoot 12-of-29 as a team from three-point range in game 2.
Betting Trends
- The Cavaliers are 8-3 against the spread (ATS) in their last 11 overall vs teams from the Atlantic division.
- The Celtics are 14-2 ATS in their last 16 home games.
- The OVER is 5-2 in Cavaliers’ last 7.
- The road team is 8-2 ATS in the last 10 meetings between these two sides.
Projected Leaders
LeBron James is projected to finish with 29 points (11-20 FG), 9 assists, 9 rebounds, 1 steal and 4 turnovers.
Jayson Tatum is projected to lead Boston with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 turnovers.
Analyst’s Pick
The OVER.
This is a three-star (out of four) AccuScore hot trend pick. Odds — at 1.90 — indicates there’s just under a 53 percent chance the total combined score goes above 202.5. The total goes OVER that number in over 60 percent of AccuScore sims, suggesting some added value on the pick.
Category: Basketball