Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics Prediction, NBA Odds
Cleveland’s historic start to the season continued with a 128-114 home win over Charlotte on Sunday. The Celtics remain firmly in second place in the Eastern Conference with an 11-3 record after squeaking by the Raptors, 126-123 in overtime, on Saturday.
Boston is a 4.5-point favourite to win on the NBA odds, with the total set at 229.5.
Cavaliers vs. Celtics NBA Betting Odds
This is the first meeting between the teams since they faced off in the second round of the playoffs last year. The Celtics won in five games and of course went on to win an NBA record 18th championship. Counting the regular season, Boston was 6-2 against the Cavs in 2023-24, with the Over/Under splitting evenly.
Cleveland has not only topped the standings early in the year, they’ve also lined bettors pockets with an 11-4 record against the spread. The Celtics are an even 7-7 ATS this season, but they’ve failed to cover in eight of their last 12 games against the Cavaliers.
You can likely expect a higher scoring game on Tuesday. The Cavs have hit the Over in 10 of 15 dates, while Boston is 7-6-1 on the Over/Under. More telling, perhaps, is the fact that eight of the last 12 games between these teams have finished above the number, including two of the last three in Boston.
You might wonder why the Celtics are favoured to win against an undefeated team, but it all comes down to Cleveland’s record in Boston. The Cavs have lost 11 of their last 13 trips to Bean Town, including four of five last season.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland is only the fourth team in NBA history to begin a season 15-0, joining the Golden State Warriors (2016), Houston Rockets (1994) and Washington Capitols (1949). All three teams went on to make the league finals, but only Houston won a championship, sweeping the Orland Magic. Golden State lost to Cleveland in seven games after setting an NBA regular season record at 73-9. The Capitols lost to the Minneapolis Lakers in the third and final season of the BAA before it merged with the NBL to form the NBA. And Minneapolis eventually moved to L.A. to become the Lakers we know today. There’s your basketball history lesson of the day.
Let’s move back to the present. Darius Garland came up clutch against the Hornets on Sunday, dropping 25 points and dishing out 12 assists. Ty Jerome matched a career-high with 24 points while Evan Mobley added 23 points and 11 rebounds. Jerome was starting in place of Cavaliers’ leading scorer Donovan Mitchell (24.6 points per game). Mitchell’s absence was reportedly due to rest, however, so he should suit up against Boston.
Boston Celtics
The dynamic duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum once again led the way for the Celtics on Saturday. Brown led Boston with 27 points, while Tatum finished with 24 points, including a buzzer-beater game-winning three at the end of overtime. Tatum also added 11 rebounds and nine assists. Tatum’s average of 29.7 ppg ranks third in the NBA and his 4.2 three-pointers per game ranks fourth.
The main injury concern for Boston continues to be centre Kristaps Porzingis, who hasn’t played this season because of a leg injury suffered in last year’s NBA Finals. Porzingis and forward Xavier Tillman practiced with G League affiliate Maine on Monday, but Porzingis isn’t expected to make his season debut with Boston until sometime in December.
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