Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics Game 5: Eastern Conference Playoffs – Second round
The Boston Celtics are one step away from moving to the Eastern Conference finals and they can do that tonight when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers in TD Garden.
Does the Cavs stand any chance to keep the season alive?
The Cleveland Cavaliers needed seven games to move past the Orlando Magic in the opening round of the playoffs to make it to the series against the Celtics. They did a good job stealing Game 2 on the road but stood no chance in both home games. The Cavs leading scorer, Donovan Mitchell, did not play in Game 4, and the Cavs had Darius Garland with 30 points as the top scorer in the game.
Is this the season for the Celtics?
The Boston Celtics had the best regular-season record and just warmed up in the opening round against the Miami Heat. They lost Game 2 against the Cavs but regained full control of the series with back-to-back wins on the road. Jayson Tatum led the team to a 109-102 Game 4 win.
Betting Trends
Boston has won 16 of the last 20 games against Cleveland and 10 of the last 12 home games against them. The Celtics are 17-3 SU in their last 20 games overall. They have covered the spread in 5 of the last 7 games. Boston has played under the total point line in 4 of their last 6 games against Cleveland and 6 of the last 9 games played in May while they have gone over in 13 of the last 19 games against teams from the Eastern Conference. Cleveland is 3-6 SU in their last 9 games overall and 1-7 SU in their last 8 road games. The Cavs are 3-6 ATS in the last 9 games overall, 3-7 ATS in the last 10 games against teams from the Atlantic Division and 5-10 ATS in the last 15 games played in May. They have gone over the total point line in 12 of their last 18 games against teams from the Eastern Conference.
Prediction and Conclusion
The Cleveland Cavaliers had slim chances to do anything in this series, and once their top scorer, Donovan Mitchell, went down with an injury, it seems like the season is over for the Cavs. They managed to steal the game the last time they were in Boston, but then the Celtics had full control of the next two games played in Ohio. That will be the case tonight as well, but as the spread is set at -15.5 points for the Celtics, we have a better option to suggest. The total point line is set at only 203.5 points for this game, and given the fact that the Cavs will have to be aggressive in hope of a miracle, this game will easily go over.
