MENU
The Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden on Monday, November 9, 2019.
Cleveland is having another terrible season. The Cavs are 5-17 SU and they are at the bottom of the Central Division right now, 12 games behind the division-leading Milwaukee Bucks. The Cavs have lost six in a row and have only one victory in their last 13 games played. Cleveland is just 2-8 on the road this season and they will take on a Boston team that has won its first nine games at home. The Celtics are the #1 team in the Atlantic Division standings with their 16-5 record. Boston is currently 2nd in the Eastern Conference behind the Milwaukee Bucks.
Trading Love
The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a horrendous start and as early as now, the team is reportedly open to trade talks involving superstar forward Kevin Love. The Cavaliers are pursuing a rebuild and Love still has three years and $90M left in his contract. With the franchise’s plan to develop a young roster under coach John Beilin, Love is the team’s top trading chip.
Love is averaging a double-double this season with 16.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. He is second in scoring behind second-year man Collin Sexton who is scoring 18.1 points per game this season. Tristan Thompson is also putting up a double-double with 13.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game while leading the team in blocked shots at 1.2 per contest.
The Cavs rank 28th in the league in scoring at 103.3 points per game this season. They are 21st in rebounding at 44.0 boards grabbed per contest and are 28th in passing at 20.4 assists per game. Cleveland is allowing its opponents to score an average of 111.9 points per game this season.
Fire and Ice
The Boston Celtics are getting a big lift from their new point guard Kemba Walker whom they acquired during the offseason but it has been the Fire and Ice combination of former #3 picks Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum that has put Boston among the top teams in the East to start the season.
Brown is averaging a career-high 20.0 points per game this season while also grabbing 6.9 boards per contest. Tatum is also scoring a personal best 21.2 points per game and leading the team in rebounds and steals at 7.0 boards and 1.4 picks per outing. Meanwhile, Walker is leading the Celtics in scoring and passing at 21.8 points and 5.0 assists per game.
Boston is 15th in the league in scoring at 110.7 points per game this season and they have the third-best scoring defense in the NBA at 103.5 points per game allowed. The Celtics are 10th in rebounding at 46.1 boards hauled per contest and they are 19th in passing at 23.4 assists per game.
Who Wins?
Cleveland is 0-6 SU in their last six games played. The Cavaliers are 0-5 SU in their last five games played on the road. Boston is 5-1 SU in their last six games played and the Celtics are 9-0 SU in their last nine games played at the TD Garden. Head to head, the Celtics are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played against the Cavaliers.
Cleveland is coming off a 47-point loss at Philadelphia on Saturday night, their worst beating of the season. The loss was their sixth in a row and 12th in their last 13 games. Cleveland is reportedly open to trading Kevin Love and I’m not sure how the locker room is feeling these days.
The Celtics host Cleveland after defeating elite teams Miami and Denver in back to back home games and doing so by double digits. Boston is still spotless at home this season with a record of 9-0 SU. Jayson Tatum is having a fantastic third season while Jaylen Brown is averaging 20 points per game this season.
The Cavs are looking lost right now and they are hitting the road where they have won just twice in 10 tries this season. Meanwhile, Boston has looked spectacular at home and the combination of Tatum and Brown has been lethal. I like the Celtics to continue rolling at home with their 10th straight win at the TD Garden.
Prediction: Boston Celtics
Other Bets to Make
The Cavs are 1-5 ATS in their last six games played. Cleveland is 4-5-1 ATS in 10 road games played this season, and 1-9 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Eastern Conference. The Celtics are 4-1 ATS in their last five games played. Boston is 6-2-1 ATS in nine home games played this season, and 4-1 ATS in their last five head to head games against Cleveland. The Celtics are also 5-1 ATS in their last six home games played against the Cavaliers.
Cavaliers
+13 (-105)
Celtics
-13 (-115)
Odds from BetOnline as of 12/09/19
Boston has outscored Cleveland by an average of 3.2 points per game in their last 10 meetings and by 7.67 points per game in their last three head to head encounters. This is one of the easier picks of the day as Boston has been terrific at home and they have found their offensive groove with Tatum and Brown feeding off each other. The Cavs’ offense has stalled in their last three games played and they have struggled to score all season long.
Prediction: Celtics -13/b>
The total has gone under in 12 out of the 22 games played by Cleveland. The under is 4-2 in the Cavs’ last six games against the Atlantic Division. The total has gone under in eight out of the last 11 games played by the Celtics and the under is also 5-4 in their nine home games played this season. The over is 4-1 in Boston’s last five games against the Eastern Conference, 7-2 in their last nine December games. Head to head, the total has gone over in six out of the last 10 meetings between these two teams.
Over
214.5 (-115)
Under
214.5 (-105)
Odds from BetOnline as of 12/09/19
These teams have combined to score an average of 207.0 points per game in their last 10 meetings and 217.67 points per game in their most recent three encounters. The Celtics have the firepower to be a high-scoring team but this season, they have relied more on defense than offense. The Cavs’ offense has been woeful this season and they have scored 94 or fewer points in each of their last three games played. I don’t think the Cavs will help the Celtics with the total.
Prediction: Under 214.5
Miami Heat vs Milwaukee Bucks 04/19/2023 NBA Odds and Prediction
New York Mets vs Los Angeles Dodgers 04/17/2023 MLB Preview and Prediction
Minnesota Twins vs New York Yankees 04/14/2023 MLB Preview and Prediction
OKC Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans 04/12/2023 NBA Play-in Tournament Odds and Prediction
