LeBron James has had many tough playoff games against the Boston Celtics in the past. Now back with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he’ll have to go through the Celtics again if the Cavs are to make a deep run in this postseason. Will the Cavs begin their postseason campaign with a victory? Or will the Celtics serve an early postseason shocker? Read on for more about this game below. You can also click here for Game 1 of the series between the Nets and the Hawks.
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Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Preview
Series Scores & Schedule
Game 1 — April 19, 3:00 PM ET, Boston Celtics (+11) at Cleveland Cavaliers (-11); total: 203.5 –view all NBA lines
Game 2 — April 21, 7:00 PM ET, Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers
Game 3 — April 23, 7:00 PM ET, Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics
Game 4 — April 26, 1:00 PM ET, Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics
Game 5 — April 28, Time TBD, Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers
Game 6 — April 30, Time TBD, Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics
Game 7 — May 2, Time TBD, Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers
Betting on the Boston Celtics
Boston’s goal is to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy and not a first overall pick in the June entry draft. In fact, the Celtics have a playoff berth to prove it. It’s going to be rough from the get-go for them, however, as they’ll about to face LeBron James and company in the first round of the playoffs.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Still, the Celtics have a reason to feel confident about this matchup, considering they’ve split their four meetings with Cleveland in the regular season. Cleveland won the first two, while Boston took the rest. But if Boston is to turn the tide in its favor, its stout bench will have to put up a show every single game.
Boston has the best bench in the league, as its reserves scored 41.4 points per game this season. That nearly doubles Cleveland’s bench production of 24.2 points each game. Leading the charge for Boston’s shock troopers is trade deadline acquisition, Isaiah Thomas. In 22 games played with the Celtics since being traded from Phoenix, the diminutive Thomas has averaged 19.0 points by mostly playing as a backup guard.
As for the starters, Evan Turner and his all-around play will come in handy against Cleveland. Turner is averaging 9.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists on the season. He has stepped up his game over the last 10 games, wherein he averaged 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 7.9 assists. Marcus Smart, who scored 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting in Boston’s 99-90 win over Cleveland on April 10, is averaging 10.5 points and 3.0 assists in the Celtics’ last four games.
Boston, 12th in scoring and fourth in assists in the league with 101.3 points and 24.3 assists per game, is 4-1 ATS in its last five games against Cleveland.
The King has towed the Cavs back into the postseason—just like in his stint with the team before. This time, however, the pressure on LeBron James to get Cleveland’s first-ever title is more amplified, as he’s got a couple of All-Star teammates in Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.
Love and Irving, however, haven’t been to the playoffs, and whether their collective postseason inexperience will weigh down Cleveland moving forward is something worth observing. But based on their previous performances against the Celtics, it seems that both stars will be just fine. Love has averaged 14.3 points and 9.7 rebounds in three games played opposite Boston.
Irving, on the other hand, has been an offensive force in two games in the regular season against the Celtics, scoring an average of 22.5 points on 53.8 percent shooting.
As for James, he’s in a league of his own whenever he faces Boston. The four-time MVP has averaged 27.3 points on 51.6 percent shooting and 6.3 assists in three meetings with the Celtics. In the first two victories of Cleveland over Boston, James dropped 68 total points on an incredible 56 percent shooting.
Cleveland is 5-2 in its last seven home games against Boston.
