Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics Betting Pick & Prediction 12/14/23

The Cavaliers and Celtics are set to face off at 7:30 ET on NBCS. The Celtics will host the game at TD Garden in Boston, MA. The odds for this Eastern conference game currently have the Celtics as the betting favorite with the over/under line sitting at 226.5 points.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS VS BOSTON CELTICS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers +8.5

This game will be played at TD Garden at 7:30 ET on Thursday, December 14th.

WHY BET THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS:

• We have this one finishing with a projected score of 111-108 in favor of the Celtics.
• Our projections have Jayson Tatum finishing with Jayson Tatum points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
• From the field, we have the Celtics finishing with a field goal percentage of 47.6% and knocking down 16 threes.

Will Cleveland Pull Through as the Underdog Road Team?

In non-conference games, the Cavaliers are 4-5 compared to their 9-6 record against Eastern Conference teams. Overall, the Cavaliers are 13-11 and have gone 3-2 in their last five games.

Cleveland arrives with an ATS record of 10-13 for the season up to this point. This season, Cleveland has a 5-9 record against the spread when they are favored, and they are 5-4 when playing as underdogs.

Coming off their recent game, the Cavaliers offense tallied 113 points in a matchup against the Celtics. Their field goal percentage for the game was 47.8%, and they made 19 threes. Donovan Mitchell led the scoring for the Cavaliers, contributing 29 points. Additionally, Darius Garland chipped in with 26 points.

Currently, the Cavaliers’ defense holds the 7th rank in the NBA, allowing 110.7 points per game.

When it comes to defending inside the arc, the Cavaliers squad is permitting opposing teams to shoot at a clip of 51.4% inside the arc, and they’re also giving up 35.6% from downtown.

Will the Celtics Find a Way to Win at Home?

Heading into today’s games, the Celtics are 17-5 overall and have gone 2-1 in their last three games. Currently, they are the top team in both the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic division.

So far, Boston is below .500 in their ATS record, currently standing at 9-12. In their last five road games, Boston has been unable to cover the spread, and they hold an ATS record of 2-8 on the road as opposed to 7-4 at home.

In their recent game, the Celtics’ offense concluded with 120 points, consistent with their ongoing season average of 117.4 points per contest. The top scorer for the Celtics was Jayson Tatum with 25 points, while Jaylen Brown also added 25 to the scoreboard.

At present, the Celtics’ defense is ranked 4th, allowing 109.0 points per game.

When it comes to forced turnovers, the Celtics are forcing 13.1 per game, which is 14th in the league. They also come into the game sitting 8th in blocked shots at 6 per game.