The Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers duke it out at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Monday night.
The Boston Celtics have gone off the boil a bit as they’ve lost three of their last four games overall and they will be hoping to snap a two-game skid after falling short to the Knicks in a 131-129 double overtime loss last night. Jayson Tatum led the team with 40 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, Jaylen Brown added 29 points while Al Horford tallied 20 points with 14 rebounds and six assists. As a team, the Celtics shot just 39 percent from the field and 21 of 59 from the 3-point line as they hung tough with the Knicks despite their poor shooting, until the second overtime where the Knicks finally slipped away.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been in a bit of a slump themselves as they’ve lost four of their last six games, but they will be eager to stay hot after blowing past the lowly Pistons in a 114-90 win on Saturday. Darius Garland led the team with 21 points and seven assists, Donovan Mitchell added 20 points while Evan Mobley chipped in with 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. As a team, the Cavaliers shot 49 percent from the field and 14 of 34 from the 3-point line as they took control of the contest with 30 points in the second quarter before they exploded for 42 points in the third quarter to put the game to bed early.
Looking at the betting trends, the Celtics are 6-1-1 ATS in their last eight games playing on zero days rest, 14-3 ATS in their last 17 games against a team above .600 and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall. The Cavaliers are 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games, 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games against a team above .600 and 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games overall.
The Celtics are shorthanded again as Robert Williams and Malcolm Brogdon are both out, while the Cavaliers are keeping an eye on Donovan Mitchell who is questionable for this one. These two teams last met on Wednesday and it was the Celtics who dominated most of the game before the Cavaliers finished with a ferocious run to make things interesting late. The injury cloud hanging over the Cavaliers’ Mitchell makes things a bit tricky, but I’m leaning towards the Cavaliers to get their revenge in this spot against a shorthanded Celtics team that has lost two games since they last met.
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
