Boston (1-1) at Cleveland (1-1)
When: Saturday, May 11th 2024
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse,
Cleveland, OH
Time: 8:30 ET | TV: ABC
Opening Odds: Boston -8/213
The first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers have been blowouts, with each team winning one. Now Cleveland has the momentum coming home for Game 3 on Saturday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Cavaliers rebounded from a 120-95 loss in Game 1 with a 118-94 triumph in Thursday’s Game 2. Will Boston be the team to bounce back now? Oddsmakers have the Celtics pegged as an 8-point favorite with a total of 211.
Heading into Thursday’s Game 2, Cleveland was +1600 to claim the series over Boston. That number has plummeted to +650. Odds remain high for the number of games in which Cleveland wins the series. Six games is now +1600 and seven games is +2000. Boston’s chances remain positive despite the setback. A win in five games is -105, six games is +350, and the Celtics winning in seven games is +475.
BOSTON CELTICS
The Celtics shot a miserable 22.9 percent from beyond the arc on Thursday, which ultimately doomed them. They were also dominated in the paint, getting outrebounded 44-31 without Kristaps Porzingis. Derrick White was great in Game 1 but failed to show up in Game 2, going 1-of-8 from 3-point land and recording just 10 points. All starters except Al Horford were a minus-21 or worse. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Jaylen Brown had 19 points but missed all six of his three-point attempts.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Cleveland returns home where they were 26-15 during the regular season and 4-0 so far in the playoffs. They also had an epic 22-point comeback win over the Celtics back in March. Donovan Mitchell led the way with 29 points and also had eight assists. Evan Mobley was fantastic with 21 points, 10 boards and five assists, while Caris LeVert contributed 21 points off the bench. With the score tied 54-54 at halftime, Cleveland came out and destroyed the Celtics 64-40 the rest of the way and shot 54.7 percent for the game.
Prediction:
I fully expect the Celtics to bounce back and roll in this one just like they did against Miami in the first round. It can be a frustrating team to watch when they’re not focused. They’ll be focused for this one. The Celtics have covered the spread in each of their last eight wins. They’ll win this Game 3.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for today.
