The Cleveland Cavaliers (15-7) travel to Boston to take on the Celtics (14-10) in a matchup that pits the fourth-ranked offense against the fourth-ranked defense. The game gets underway at 7:30 pm ET on Tuesday, Dec. 15 and will air on CNE, FxO and NBA.
The Celtics beat the Hornets 98-93 on Saturday. Isaiah Thomas played a key role, recording 21 points and 13 assists to notch his third double-double this season. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are coming off a 111-76 win over the Magic on Friday. LeBron James led the game in scoring with 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting.
It will be a battle of strength versus strength, as the high-octane offense of the Cavaliers (fourth in the NBA with an offensive efficiency of 105.5) take the court against the top-notch defense of the Celtics (fourth in the league with a defensive efficiency of 97.8).
The Celtics are a small two-point underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 201 points. The Celtics are attempting to build on their records of 14-10 Straight Up (SU) and 14-9-1 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 7-2-1 ATS. If its opponents turn the ball over, Boston has shown that it knows how to capitalize. They average 20.7 points off turnovers, making them the second-best team in the league for that category.
Across the court, the Cavaliers have a 15-7 SU record, but have struggled ATS with an 8-14 record. Against teams in the Eastern Conference, Cleveland has a record of 12-6 SU, but only 7-11 ATS.
The conference rivals will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Cavaliers were winners, bringing their SU record in the past 10 games to 6-4. The teams have an even record ATS, 5-5.
Predictions: SU Winner – Bos, ATS Winner – Bos, O/U – Over
Notes
Boston is 6-0-1 ATS in its last 7 games.
Boston is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston’s last 6 games at home.
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Boston is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Boston’s last 7 games when playing Cleveland.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston’s last 7 games when playing at home against Cleveland.
Boston is 17-7 SU in its last 24 games when playing at home against Cleveland.
Boston averages 103.7 points per game (ranked sixth). However, Cleveland has allowed an average of just 96.7 points per game (ranked fourth).
Boston averages 104.8 points per home game (ranked seventh). However, Cleveland has allowed an average of just 95.5 points per away game (ranked third).
The Cleveland Cavaliers won their last game by 35 points. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, the Boston Celtics are 4-2. Cleveland is 2-0 in blowouts this season.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a superb 9-3. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Boston Celtics have a losing record of 3-5.
Cleveland is 6-4 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Celtics have a winning 11-5 record when hitting triple digits.
Cleveland’s offense and Boston’s defense both rank fourth this season. Cleveland has an offensive rating of 105.5 and Boston has a defensive rating of 97.8.
Cleveland has an average field goal percentage of 45.6% (ranked fifth). Boston is an abysmal 2-6 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
Boston attempts an average of 28.0 three pointers per game, and Cleveland attempts 27.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Celtics have a 10-8 record while the Cavaliers have a 9-7 record.
The Boston Celtics, with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.65, rank seventh in the NBA. The Cleveland Cavaliers have a lower A/TO (1.60), ranking 10th.
The Boston Celtics rebound 43.9 times per game and are ranked 17th. Ranked eighth, the Cleveland Cavaliers rebound 45.1 times per game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers rank 16th in offensive rebounding, while the Boston Celtics rank 24th in defensive rebounding.
Though Boston is one of the best in the league in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TOV% of 17.2% (ranked first), Cleveland has a solid 4-2 record SU when its TOV% is 17.2% or greater.
