The Cleveland Cavaliers (51-27) will look to extend their 18-game home winning streak in a tough game against the Boston Celtics (36-42), who are on their own five-game road winning streak. The game gets underway at 7:30 pm ET on Friday, Apr. 10 and will air on CSN-NE and FSN-OH.
The Cavaliers beat the Bucks 104-99 on Wednesday. Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 27 points on 7-for-13 shooting. The Celtics, meanwhile, are coming off a 113-103 win over the Pistons on Wednesday. Isaiah Thomas shot 10-for-17 and led in scoring with 34 points.
It will be a tale of two tempos, as the fast-breaking Celtics (ranked fourth in the league in possessions per game) take on the slow-paced Cavaliers (26th).
The Cavaliers have won both matchups against the Celtics this season, including a 110-79 blowout in their last matchup. LeBron James was the game’s leading scorer with 27 points.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Cavaliers look to build on their records of 51-27 Straight Up (SU) and 39-39 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 33-15 SU and 22-26 ATS versus the Eastern Conference.
Across the court, Boston has a SU record of 36-42 and an ATS record of 45-33. Boston has a record of 24-24 SU and 28-20 ATS against the East. Defenses have a tough time accounting for every player when up against the Celtics, who are known for distributing the ball with 24.2 assists per game.
Following the Cavaliers’ latest win over Boston, Cleveland is still behind in the head-to-head record over the last 10 meetings, 4-6 SU. However, the Cavaliers lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4. Cleveland has held the edge in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) twice over the last 10, while Boston accomplished this once.
Predictions: SU Winner – CLE, ATS Winner – CLE
Notes
Cleveland is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games.
Cleveland is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games.
Cleveland is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Cleveland’s last 8 games at home.
Cleveland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Cleveland is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games when playing Boston.
Cleveland is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games when playing at home against Boston.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland’s last 5 games when playing at home against Boston.
Cleveland is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Boston.
Boston’s offense and Cleveland’s defense are well matched, ranking 12th in points per game and points allowed per game respectively. Boston scores an average of 101.2 points per game, while Cleveland allows 98.3 points per game.
Boston puts up an average of 101.3 points per away game (ranked 10th), while Cleveland gives up 95.6 points per home game (ranked sixth).
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Boston Celtics are a stellar 27-6. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a poor record of 11-22.
The Boston Celtics have an abysmal 9-36 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Cleveland Cavaliers are 40-5 when they hit the century mark.
The Celtics have an offensive rating of 101.6 (ranked 19th), while the Cavaliers rank 18th for their defensive rating of 103.2.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking seventh in the league with a FG% of 45.9%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Boston Celtics have a subpar 7-29 record.
On average, Cleveland attempts 27.4 three pointers and Boston attempts 24.6 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Cavaliers have a solid 32-20 record while the Celtics are even at 18-18.
Cleveland has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.63 this season (ranked 16th). Boston ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.82 (ranked fourth).
The Cavaliers rank 18th in rebounds per game with 42.9, while the Celtics rank 11th with 43.9 per game.
Cleveland is ranked 21st in defensive rebounds, while Boston ranks 11th in offensive rebounds.
Cleveland has forced an average turnover percentage of 13.5% this season. Boston has a losing 15-24 record when its TOV% is 13.5% or higher.
