Two days after mounting the largest comeback in a Game 7 in NBA history, the Cleveland Cavaliers will take on the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs in Game 1 Tuesday evening. The Celtics have had plenty of time off after beating the Heat in five games and will look to continue their dominance, while the Cavaliers hope to be better offensively and will be banking on Boston being rusty after not taking the court for so long.
Jarrett Allen is questionable as he continues to deal with a ribs injury. Dean Wade, Craig Porter Jr. and Ty Jerome remain out. Kristaps Porzingis is expected to miss the entire series for Boston as he deals with a calf strain.
The Celtics are 12-point favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook and the total comes in at 210. Boston is -650 on the moneyline while Cleveland is +470.
Cavaliers vs. Celtics, 7 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Celtics -12
The Celtics are 15-12-1 ATS with a rest advantage this season, although those numbers are a bit misleading for the regular season since Boston’s spreads were somewhat higher than normal. The Cavaliers are 10-13-1 ATS with a rest disadvantage, but they looked particularly bad in road games against the Magic in the first round. Cleveland got better at shrinking the margin of defeat from 38 to 23 to seven in Games 3, 4 and 6 but this team was underwhelming offensively in a hostile environment.
Even though Porzingis is out, I think the Celtics have too much firepower for a Cavaliers squad that was completely reliant on Donovan Mitchell for offense. Allen coming back in the lineup might change some things but for now, I’ll take Boston to make a big statement in Game 1.
Over/Under: Under 210
Cleveland’s first two games in the first round went way under the total but the Cavaliers were 3-2 to the over in the next five contests. The Celtics were 2-3 to the over, largely due to Miami’s poor offensive display. The Celtics should be able to put up points even with Porzingis out, while the Cavaliers are unlikely to magically flip a switch with their offense in two days. I like the under in this game, even on a slightly lower total.