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Eastern Conference basketball continues through mid-December with a matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers (13-9, 9-11-2 ATS) and the Boston Celtics (16-5, 9-10-2 ATS). The Cavaliers played in Orlando the night before this matchup (Note: This game was published before the results of the Cleveland/Orland game on Monday). Cleveland won their previous matchup on the road in Miami 111-999, easily covering the 1.5-point spread as favorites. Boston is coming off a 133-123 win at home over the Knicks, covering the 7.5-point spread as favorites. This is the first matchup of three games between these teams this season. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 EST from TD Garden in Boston.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers currently sit at 6th in the Eastern Conference, and hope to keep the momentum gained from their recent stretch of games. The Cavs have won five of their last six, and were listed as the favorites in all six games. Their one loss came to Portland, but have won three straight since that matchup. Donovan Mitchell has been playing well lately, he led the team in scoring in their past two games with 35 against Orlando and 27 against Miami. This is the first of two consecutive games between the Cavaliers and Celtics, with both games being played in Boston.
Cleveland is led in scoring by Donovan Mitchell with 27.6 PPG, and he is also their best perimeter defender with 1.9 steals per game. Mitchell adds 5.9 RPG and 5.3 APG as an all around player, and is their top shooter with 3.0 made threes per game. Darius Garland is their second leading scorer with 19.6 PPG, and leads the team wi th 6.1 APG. Garland has scored 18 or more in each of the last three games during their winning streak. Max Strus has been a steady shooter for Cleveland, he starts on the perimeter and adds 14.3 PPG. Evan Mobley missed the last game with a knee injury, and Caris LaVert has also been sidelined with knee issues.
Jarrett Allen starts at center for the Cavaliers, he averages 13.0 PPG and 8.2 RPG. When Mobley is out of the lineup, Cleveland starts Dean Wade, the 6'9 role player averaging just 3.5 PPG. Cleveland ranks 18th in the NBA in offensive efficiency and 3rd in defensive efficiency according to dunksandthrees.com. Their tempo ranks 17th in the league measured by their pace of play.
Injury Report:
Questionable: Evan Mobley, Caris LaVert