The Cavaliers are in a dogfight to keep their season alive now that they’re trailing the Celtics three games to two in the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals. Read on to get Cavaliers vs Celtics Game 6 pick and predictions!
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Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics
- Where: May 25, 2018, 8:30 PM ET
- When: Quicken Loans Arena
- Spread: Cavaliers -7
- Over/Under: 201.5
- More NBA Betting Lines
Boston Celtics Betting Analysis
The Celtics have given everyone something to talk about in these playoffs and don’t seem like they have any plans of slowing down in their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Cavs.
Boston’s all-around team effort and grit have brought them to being only one game away from advancing to the NBA Finals.
Nevertheless, though the C’s lead 3-2 they’ll need to do something they haven’t done well at all this postseason which is to win on the road.
The Celtics haven’t figured out how to play with the same intensity as they do at home in front of their fans.
In Game 5, Boston held the Cavaliers to 41 percent shooting from the field and 26 percent from downtown. In fact, LeBron James and Kevin Love were the only Cavaliers to score in double digits.
Rookie Jayson Tatum has been instrumental throughout this series, and scored 24 points, grabbed four boards and dished out four assists in Game 5. He also accounts for four of Boston’s 10 steals in the game which effectively kept the Cavaliers from scoring many points.
The odds for Boston eliminating Cleveland tonight are not good however as they’re the 7-point underdogs. If games 3 and 4 are any indication of what tonight’s game final score is, the spread might be low.
"Congrats, Boston. You're going to get rolled tomorrow night in Cleveland, setting up a Game 7 where LeBron averages 35 points... Ask Indiana how that goes."@ColinCowherd reacts to the Celtics Game 5 win pic.twitter.com/ZwyqsuH8ZF
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) May 24, 2018
Regardless, the Celtics will look to pick up from where they left things in the previous game and hope to bog LeBron down. James only scored two points in the fourth quarter of their Game 5 win.
Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Analysis
The Cavaliers know they have a good shot at extending the series to a seventh game tonight because they’re playing at home. But, they’ll nevertheless have to do a much better job of rebounding and keeping the ball in their possession.
James and Love, the only two players who make a difference, will have to get some help from their teammates who have failed to show up with any consistency all throughout the series.
J.R Smith is only averaging 5.2 points per game in this series and Tristan Thompson only scored one point and took six rebounds in the last game.
Even with James’ 26 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, along with Love’s 14 points, it’s clear the Celtics have a much better team than Cleveland.
Not all is wrong with the Cavaliers though, and as everyone knows LeBron is as tough as nails in these situations where they’re facing elimination. Overall, James has gone 10-3 over his last 13 games where a postseason exit was on the ropes.
But, at 33 years of age, he’ll definitely have to scramble to beat a much younger, much more physical Celtics squad in Game 6 and potentially a seventh game in Cleveland.
Also, exhaustion could be a big issue for both teams as many people have pointed out. Even if Coach Tyronn Lue remains confident in LeBron’s stamina, it’s always shaky ground when you rely so much on one player.
“If I had to pick one guy and choose one guy to prevail, it would be LeBron.” Coach Lue said. “I know he’ll be great come tomorrow, and then after that we’ll see…Believe me, he’s not the only one that’s feeling fatigue right now.”
Cavaliers' LeBron James brushes off health & fatigue questions after Game 5 loss to Celtics: "I'm fine. And I didn't mention the fatigue either. One of you guys did." pic.twitter.com/U4frZkSbBh
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 24, 2018
Defensively, Cleveland did well in Game 5, keeping the Celtics to 36 percent shooting from the field and 33 percent from three-point range.
Good defense didn’t matter though because the Cavs were owned on the glass and turned the ball over too many times, led by James, who had six turnovers to his name.
Despite James’ record for pulling through these situations, oddsmakers are unbelieving that the Cleveland will make the NBA Finals and beat the Celtics twice in a row. The latest series odds show the C’s as a -183 favorite to make the NBA Finals, while the Cavaliers are a +163 underdog.
Celtics vs Cavaliers Betting Trends
- Boston is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games
- Boston is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games
- Cleveland is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland's last 5 games
- Cleveland is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games at home
Game Prediction: The Cavaliers aren’t playing with the same fire as they did when they played Indiana in the first round, when they beat them in seven games. The Celtics have shown that despite their youth, they won’t be intimidated by the likes of James or anyone else. Tonight’s game will prove they’ve come of age, even if prematurely.
Pick: Take the Celtics at +7