The Boston Celtics (45-20, 20-11 Away) head to face the Cleveland Cavaliers (40-26, 27-7 Home) Monday in a matchup that pits explosive offense against superb defense.
Boston is playing on back-to-back days after being narrowly beaten by the New York Knicks 131-129 in double overtime at TD Garden yesterday. Jayson Tatum was a top performer in the losing effort with 40 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.
The Celtics are trailing the Milwaukee Bucks by one game in the Eastern Conference, currently sitting in second. Cleveland won in dominant fashion on Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, beating the Detroit Pistons 114-90. Darius Garland had 21 points and seven assists to lead the team.
The Cavaliers are fourth in the Eastern Conference. It’s the final meeting of the season between the teams. Boston will be looking to level the season series after coming out on top in only one of the three previous matchups, including a 117-113 victory at TD Garden on Wednesday.
Tatum led the Celtics with 41 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Donovan Mitchell had 44 points in the loss. Tatum and Jaylen Brown, averaging 30.3 and 26.5 points per game, respectively, are leading the Celts in scoring this season.
Tatum is sixth in the NBA in scoring. Tatum also has grabbed 8.9 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Marcus Smart is dishing 6.7 assists per game. Mitchell has supplied much of the Cavs’ offense, averaging 27.4 points per game. He has the eighth-highest scoring average in the league.
Garland is recording 7.9 assists per game, seventh-most in the NBA, and Jarrett Allen is pulling down 9.8 rebounds per game.The Cavaliers are the NBA’s second-best team in defensive efficiency, while the Celtics rank third in offensive efficiency.The teams have split their last 10 clashes at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (5-5).
Meanwhile, the Celtics are 8-1 this season when playing on consecutive nights and 5-1 with a rest disadvantage. The Cavaliers are 6-4 with a rest advantage.Boston is 6-4 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +1.7 (119.5-117.8). Cleveland has also gone 6-4 over the last 10, scoring 113.0 points per game on average while allowing 105.9 (+7.1 margin).
CELTICS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Al Horford: 25.6 | 18.9 | +6.7
Malcolm Brogdon: 15.0 | 22.4 | -7.4
Points per game:
Malcolm Brogdon: 9.7 | 14.6 | -4.9
Rebounds per game:
Jaylen Brown: 5.0 | 6.9 | -1.9
Assists per game:
Jayson Tatum: 6.8 | 4.8 | +2.0
Marcus Smart: 3.8 | 6.7 | -2.9
CAVALIERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Ricky Rubio: 7.0 | 10.9 | -3.9
Points per game:
Caris LeVert: 6.8 | 11.6 | -4.7
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Cleveland Cavs (-300)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
