Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 05/03/2024, 07:06  by Joseph King | Modified on 05/03/2024 at 07:44 in NBA Predictions

Two of the Eastern Conference’s very best teams go at it on Tuesday when the third-placed Cleveland Cavaliers welcome the first-place Boston Celtics to town. The Cavs are involved in a tight battle with the Bucks for the second seed, of which they currently trail by just a single game. Cleveland is 39-21 on the season but have experienced some mixed results as of late with only three wins in their last seven appearances. Their last outing resulted in a 107-98 loss to the New York Knicks. While the Cavs were without star player Donovan Mitchell, the Knicks were extremely short-handed themselves. Cleveland now faces the tough task of trying to slow down the red-hot Celtics, who they have already lost to twice this season (both times on the road). The hosts will again be without Mitchell and will have other role-players such as Strus, LeVert and Okoro either unable to go or questionable.

The Celtics continue to roll as they now search for their 12th straight victory. Boston demolished the Warriors, handing two-time MVP Stephen Curry his worst ever defeat in the form of a 140-88 blowout at home on Sunday. The result means that the Celtics have now quite incredibly won their last six games by an average margin of 29.8 points. Boston now holds an eight-game lead over the second-place Bucks in the East and have built up a record of 48-12. The visitors haven’t lost in over a month with their last defeat coming on February 1st against the LA Lakers. With an adjusted net rating of +10.9 (next highest OKC’s +6.9), Boston has posted the highest rating in this statistic since the star-studded 2017 Warriors team. The one potential weakness in Boston’s armour this season could be their away performance as nine of the team’s 12 defeats have come on the road.