Cleveland Cavaliers: Winning streak on the line vs the Boston Celtics
#3 thing to watch – gambling lines
While the Cavaliers have been producing on the floor and winning games, they’ve also been covering the spread during this excellent stretch of basketball.
Against the Boston Celtics specifically, although they have lost both games, they are 1-1 against the spread. They lost by just six in their first contest but were blown out in the second matchup with Boston by 22.
The Action Network opened this game up with the Cavaliers being 14-point underdogs. The line has since moved and currently sits at Cleveland +13.5.
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Although the Celtics are a much better team, and really a poor matchup for the Cavaliers, 13.5 points is a lot to be giving up in an NBA contest.
The Cavaliers will need to look towards their biggest team strength in order to keep this game competitive, rebounding.
Although Boston ranks higher, according to NBA.com than the Cavaliers in overall rebounding, a lot of that is due to the fact that the Celtics are a much better defensive team than Cleveland and have more opportunities at defensive rebounds.
When looking at advanced rebounding stats per NBA.com, the Cavaliers actually rank higher than the Celtics in rebounding percentage as they come in at ninth in the NBA and the Celtics come in at 11th.
Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love will need to crash the glass and give the Cavaliers second chance opportunities because Boston’s defense is excellent. If they are able to do that, the Cavaliers will be able to cover the spread.
Take the points and bet the Cavaliers.
The bet – Cleveland Cavaliers +13.5
Season betting record – 10-5-1
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Whatever happens in today’s game will not be indicative of the Cavaliers over the next few weeks. There are going to be more roster moves and rotation changes as coach Beilein will try his best to get the most out of the roster. Fans should be excited for the future as the front office has indicated, with the Clarkson trade, that the young pieces are the future so we should expect more minutes from Garland, Sexton, and Porter Jr. moving forward.