A rematch of the last year's Eastern Finals will take place at TD Garden on Friday, with the Boston Celtics (11-10) hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers (4-16) as 13.5-point home favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The big difference in this meeting obviously is the absence of LeBron James, who bolted Cleveland for the Los Angeles Lakers in the offseason.
Without James in the lineup for the Cavaliers they have struggled mightily as expected, especially on the road where they are just 1-9 straight up overall but 6-4 against the spread for bettors. Cleveland's last cover away from home came against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 23, winning 121-112 as a 13-point underdog.
Meanwhile, the Celtics have not lived up to preseason expectations yet, as they were supposed to be the team to beat in the East with James headed West. Instead, Boston has dropped four of six both SU and ATS, and a 124-107 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans as two-point road underdogs on Monday is the only thing putting the team above .500 right now.
Kyrie Irving had a team-high 26 points and 10 assists for the Celtics at New Orleans, the first time in three games he scored more than 19. Irving made 5-of-10 shots from beyond the three-point arc against the Pelicans after hitting 6-of-29 in the previous four games combined. He also totaled nine assists and seven turnovers in the previous two games.
In last year's Eastern Finals, Boston did not have Irving or Gordon Hayward available due to injuries, eventually losing in seven games with home-court advantage. As a former Cavalier, Irving should be extra motivated to face his old team again in this spot along with rookie counterpart Collin Sexton. The 19-year-old from Alabama has picked up his scoring lately, averaging 21 points while Cleveland has split its last four games SU and ATS.
The UNDER has cashed in the past two games for the Cavaliers along with 10 of 13. The Celtics have seen opposite results lately, with the total going OVER in their last two games and four of five. The UNDER is 7-3 in the previous 10 meetings between the teams as well, according to the OddsShark NBA Database, although you can pretty much throw out any recent series trends because James was involved.
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