The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics continue their second-round series in the 2024 NBA Playoffs Monday with Game 4 from Cleveland. The Cavaliers will be hoping to level the series once again after falling short in Game 3, while the Celtics attempt to set up a closeout opportunity at home in Game 5 with another road win.
Boston remains without Kristaps Porzingis due to a calf strain, while Luke Kornet is considered probable. Jarrett Allen continues to be listed as questionable with a ribs injury, while Ty Jerome and Craig Porter Jr. are out. Donovan Mitchell has popped up on the injury report with a calf injury but he’s expected to suit up for this contest.
Update — Mitchell will miss Game 4 of the second round vs. the Celtics due to a left calf strain.
ESPN Sources: Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell — who’s averaging nearly 30 points in playoffs — will miss Game 4 vs. the Boston Celtics tonight with a left calf strain. Huge loss for Cavs in a telltale home game down 2-1 in series. pic.twitter.com/fCaUymh6i0
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 13, 2024
The Celtics are 8.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook with the total sitting 207. Boston is -340 on the moneyline while Cleveland is +270.
Celtics vs. Cavaliers, 7 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Celtics -8.5
This series is following a script similar to Boston’s opening round against the Heat. The Celtics were shocked in Game 2 of that series before dominating Miami over the next three contests. It feels like the same thing is happening here, with the Cavaliers failing to get any offense outside of Mitchell. Cleveland desperately needs to get Darius Garland and Caris LeVert going to have any chance of competing, as the Celtics have figured out they don’t need to shoot threes at volume to outmatch the Cavaliers.
Boston won by 14 points in Game 4 against Miami last round. The Celtics are 21-17-3 ATS as a road favorite but more importantly, they are 17-7 straight up on the road over the last three postseasons. I don’t see the Cavaliers offering much resistance, especially if Mitchell is truly hobbled as the injury report suggests. Give me Boston to cover in Game 4.
Over/Under: Under 207
The first two games went over this mark, while Game 3 went under. The Celtics have adjusted their gameplan to attack the basket more, which has resulted in more consistent production offensively. The Cavaliers hit the three-point shot at a good clip in Game 2 but that was only the second time they have topped 100 points in a game these playoffs. Home unders have been a hit in Cleveland, and I think this remains a relatively low-scoring game Monday. I’ll take the under here.