The Cleveland Cavaliers head to TD Garden to take on the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, Apr. 23 and will air on TNT, FSN-OH and CSN-NE.
The Celtics lost to the Cavaliers 113-100 on Sunday. Isaiah Thomas put in a solid effort despite the loss for Boston, recording 22 points and 10 assists to earn his zeroth double-double of the season. Kyrie Irving led the game in scoring with 30 points on 11-for-21 shooting.
This game should be a battle of contrasting styles. The Celtics (ranked fifth in the league in possessions per game) prefer a fast-breaking style of play, while the Cavaliers (26th) are more half-court-oriented.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is presently unavailable. The Celtics enter the game with records of 40-42 Straight Up (SU) and 49-33 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 8-2 ATS. Spreading the ball around is a huge part of Boston’s offense. They are fourth in the league in assists with an average of 24.5 per game.
On the other side, Cleveland has a SU record of 53-29 and an ATS record of 40-42. Cleveland managed to go 7-3 SU over the last 10 games, while only going 3-7 ATS during the same amount of time.
Following the Cavaliers’ latest win over Boston, Cleveland is still behind in the head-to-head record over the past 10 meetings, 4-6 SU. The teams have an even record ATS, 5-5. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Cleveland held the edge in all three of these categories twice in the last 10 meetings. Boston did so once.
Predictions: SU Winner – CLE, ATS Winner – CLE
Notes
Cleveland’s offense and Boston’s defense are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per game and points allowed per game respectively. Cleveland puts up an average of 0.0 points per game, while Boston allows 0.0 points per game.
Cleveland and Boston are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per away game and points allowed at home respectively. Cleveland puts up an average of 0.0 points on the road, while Boston gives up 0.0 points at home on average.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Cavaliers are 39-7 on the season. When the Celtics score fewer than 100, they are a poor 11-22.
At 14-22, the Cleveland Cavaliers have an underachieving record when their opponents score 100 points or more. The Boston Celtics are 29-20 when they hit the century mark.
The Cavaliers have the third-best offensive rating in the NBA (108.1). The Celtics are also in the top half of the league based on their defensive rating of 101.6 (ranked 12th).
The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking eighth in the league with a FG% of 45.8%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Boston Celtics have a subpar 8-29 record.
The Boston Celtics average 24.6 three point attempts per game and are 20-18 when attempting at least 25 in a game. The Cleveland Cavaliers average 27.5 attempts and have a solid record (34-21) when attempting 25 or more.
Boston has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.85 this season (ranked fourth), while Cleveland ranks lower at 16th with an A/TO of 1.62.
The Boston Celtics rebound 43.8 times per game and are ranked 13th. Ranked 18th, the Cleveland Cavaliers rebound 43.0 times per game.
The Celtics and the Cavaliers are well matched when it comes to rebounding. Boston is ranked 11th in defensive rebounding, and Cleveland is also ranked 11th in offensive rebounding.
Boston averages a forced turnover rate of 14.6% this season. Cleveland has a 19-20 record when they suffer a turnover rate equal to or exceeding this.
