Cleveland dominated from start to finish against Boston in Game 1, cruising to the road victory. The Cavaliers have been dominant throughout the postseason and will aim to pick up a win in Game 2 as well. If that happens, they could make quick work of the Celtics since the following two games will be back in Cleveland.
Boston’s back is against the wall and it will need to play much better in this series or risk getting run over on the Cavaliers’ march to the NBA Finals.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, May 19, 2017, at 8:30 p.m. ET at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The game will be televised live on TNT.
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NBA Odds
The Cavaliers were 3.5-point favorites in Game 1 and easily covered that in the 117-104 win in which they led by more than 20 points much of the way. The “over” was the correct choice.
The spread has now moved up to -5.5 for the Cavs, who will aim to cruise to another victory. More than 90 percent of the money is jumping on Cleveland to cover. The Cavs are -245 on the moneyline, while the Celtics are +203. The scoring total is set at 219.5 points, with the “over” the more popular choice.
Cleveland is 60-31 straight up and 41-46-4 against the spread. The Cavaliers are 20-24-2 attempting to cover on the road but have been much better lately. Cleveland is 36-36-4 as the favorite on the season.
The Celtics are 61-35 straight up and 50-45-1 against the spread. Boston has covered in 22 of 49 attempts at home on the season. The Celtics are 12-12-1 against the spread as the underdog.
Last Time Out
The Cavaliers had 10 days off in between the Eastern Conference semifinals and the finals, but they didn’t miss a beat on Wednesday. LeBron James continued his dominating postseason run as Cleveland captured a convincing 117-104 win on the road.
James finished with 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the win. Kevin Love added 32 points and 12 rebounds.
The Cavaliers got ahead early and never looked back in Game 1 and Boston just didn’t have answer for James. Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder finished with a team-high 21 points apiece and Isiah Thomas had 17 points and 10 assists.
Key Stat
Nine. That’s the consecutive wins for Cleveland in the postseason as they swept both the Indiana Pacers and the Toronto Raptors. So far, the Cavaliers look on track for another finals appearance and a title defense.
The Cavs have won four of the last five games by double-digits and appear to be only picking up steam as the playoffs wear on. James remains the motor that keeps the Cleveland train chugging along, averaging 34.4 points per game along with nine rebounds and 7.1 assists in the postseason so far.
Free NBA ATS Pick
The Cavaliers have been unbeatable thus far, but Boston is a talented team and should be able to put up a fight in Game 2 knowing how important it is to them. Thomas should be able to have a big game, but he is going to need some help.
Expect Boston to lead this one for a big chunk of the night, but James will be too much down the stretch, helping Cleveland to another win, which will basically begin the countdown for its return to the NBA Finals.
NBA Odds: Cavaliers 112, Celtics 109
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