NBA betting trends, odds and predictions for Sunday, May 21st, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
NBA Knowledge
Isaiah Thomas (hip) is done for the year; this series is over, but they still have to play two more games. Cleveland is 10-0 in playoffs (7-0-1 vs spread in last eight games), 4-0 at home (2-2 vs spread); over is 7-3 in their last ten games. Cavaliers were up 22-41 points at the half in first two series games; they’re 9-2 in last 11 games vs Boston. Celtics lost last three games in this arena (1-1-1 vs spread). Three of last four series games stayed under the total. Boston lost five of last seven games overall, including last three on road. Over is 7-2 in Celtics’ last nine games.
Armadillosports.com
Game 3 - Celtics at Cavaliers
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Boston at Cleveland
The Eastern Conference Finals are nearly done, as evidenced by a pair of Cleveland routs of Boston at TD Garden. The Cavaliers are two victories away from their third straight NBA Finals appearance as Cleveland heads back home trying to close out the overmatched Celtics.
Not having home-court advantage didn’t matter one iota for Tyronn Lue’s squad, who knocked off Boston in the series opener, 117-104 after building a 21-point halftime lead. The Cavaliers didn’t mess around in Game 2 by jumping out to a 72-31 halftime advantage in a 130-86 rout to easily cash as five-point road favorites.
Cleveland shot a scorching 56% from the field, while knocking down 19 three-pointers in Game 2. Amazingly, the Cavaliers had only four players scoring in double-figures, led by LeBron James’ 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the floor. Kyrie Irving shot a shade under 80% from the field (8-of-11), while posting a 23-point effort. The Cavs broke things open by outscoring the Celtics in the second quarter, 40-13 to improve to 10-0 in the postseason.
Now, the ugly part of the Game 2 beatdown in Beantown. Celtics’ star Isaiah Thomas was limited to two points on 0-for-6 shooting in 17 minutes before exiting with a right hip injury. Thomas will be sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs as the Celtics lost five of six games without the All-Star guard this season.
Boston dropped its sixth straight playoff game to Cleveland dating back to the 2015 first round, which also means that head coach Brad Stevens has yet to defeat to the Cavaliers in a postseason game.
The Cavaliers have compiled a 5-1 record this season against the Celtics, while topping the 114-point mark in all five victories. Now the series heads back to Quicken Loans Arena for the next two games, which could spell the end of Boston’s season.
Cleveland beat Boston by six points in each matchup at the “Q,” but the Cavaliers held a 17-point halftime advantage in the first meeting in November, while building an 18-point edge after three quarters in the second contest before Boston picked up a push and an ATS win.
Heading into Game 3, the Cavaliers opened as 14½-point favorites before the announcement of Thomas’ status. Cleveland has moved up to 15½-point chalk at most spots, as the highest number the Cavs have laid all season is 16½ against the Nets on December 23 in a 119-99 win. However, the Cavs lost as 15-point favorites to a short-handed Hawks’ squad on April 7 in a 114-100 defeat.
The Celtics were listed as an underdog of nine points or more only once this season, which came in the first meeting at Cleveland on November 3. Boston covered as 10½-point ‘dogs in a 128-122 setback as the Celtics outscored the Cavs in the fourth quarter, 39-28 to grab the cover. The C’s won all three road games in the opening round at Chicago, but lost all three at Washington in the second round, while owning a 1-2 ATS record as a road underdog.
We’ve see the total go 1-1 in the first two games at TD Garden and the ‘over’ could easily be 2-0 if Boston could make any shots this past Friday.
The oddsmakers opened Game 3 at 214 ½ and VegasInsider.com NBA analyst Chris David feels that the Celtics will try to muck up the game on Sunday and slow the tempo down.
He explained, “Even though the Celtics have been exposed and embarrassed in the first two games of this series, I believe the coaching staff will have them ready to go Sunday – at least on the defensive side of the ball. Looking at the numbers, the Celtics have been better defensively on the road (104.5 PPG) than at home (106.4 PPG) this season and in their eight playoffs wins, they’re only allowing 99.8 PPG. This has to be stressed and if Brad Stevens wants to keep his status as a ‘solid coach’ then the game plan will strictly focus on that side of the ball and hope the offense takes care of itself.”
“Betting against LeBron and Cleveland is very risky, especially when you know the Cavs have averaged 118.6 PPG in six games versus the Celtics this season. While I don’t expect Boston to win on Sunday, it should be noted that Cleveland hasn’t looked as sharp when playing on Sundays in this year’s playoffs. They did beat Indiana and Toronto on the road but only averaged 107.5 PPG in those games. I could be reaching but if I’m going to step up to the counter in Game 3, I would lean to the ‘under’ in the Cleveland team total of 114½.”
The Cavaliers have not been listed as a double-digit favorite in this postseason, but won and covered in their last four opportunities in this situation in 2016. In fact, Cleveland went 3-0 SU/ATS in the conference finals against Toronto at home when laying 11 points or more with each win coming by at least 19 points.
The series price is off the board, but the Cavs are currently listed at 2/1 odds to win its second consecutive NBA title. If you believe in miracles, throw in a few bucks on the Celtics to beat the Cavs in four of the next five games, then capture four more victories in the NBA Finals as Boston sits at 1000/1 to win its 18th title in franchise history.
Sunday’s NBA Eastern Conference Finals Betting Preview
Covers.com
Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers (-14.5, 216.5)
The Cleveland Cavaliers steamrolled their way to consecutive victories in Boston and look to take a 3-0 series lead when they host the Celtics in Sunday's Eastern Conference finals' matchup. Cleveland dominated play in the opening two games and annihilated the Celtics 130-86 in Friday's Game 2.
The second-seeded Cavaliers are 10-0 this postseason and tied the NBA record of 13 straight playoff wins (set by the 1988-89 Los Angeles Lakers) but Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue asserts that top-seeded Boston is still in the series. "It's one game. I don't care if you win by 200 points," Lue said in the press conference after Game 2. "We're going back home, we're not going to get comfortable. We understand that this is a good team. They're not No. 1 in the East for no reason." Boston trailed 72-31 at halftime and narrowly avoided suffering the worst playoff defeat in franchise history, and there were a lot of sad faces pondering how to recover from such a beat down. "It's hard to take," center Al Horford told reporters. "We've worked really hard and put ourselves in this position to be here. It's been tough for our group. (Game 2) was real rough, there's no other way to put it. It's definitely a low point for our group."
INJURY REPORT:
Celtics - Isaiah Thomas (Questionable, hip)
Cavaliers - C Edy Tavares (Out For Season, hand), PG Kay Felder (Out Indefinitely, leg).
ABOUT THE CELTICS (61-36 SU, 49-46-2 ATS, 48-45-4 O/U): The whipping was bad enough but standout point guard Isaiah Thomas aggravated a hip injury in the first half and had just two points on 0-of-6 shooting before sitting out the second half. Thomas' play has dropped over the past week and it turns out the hip was examined after Game 6 of the second-round series against the Washington Wizards, but Boston players are hopeful he will be ready for Game 3. "Isaiah brings a lot to this team, not just with his leadership but his play," shooting guard Avery Bradley told reporters. "Most important, I just hope he's better. I care about him off the floor. I just hope he's OK."
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (61-31 SU, 43-45-4 ATS, 54-37-1 O/U): James isn't among the three finalists for NBA MVP honors for the first time since 2008 but he has been unstoppable in the playoffs with averages of 34.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists. James insisted he didn't know about the MVP development prior to the game but he certainly appeared motivated while recording 30 points, seven assists, four steals and three blocked shots in Game 2. "My only job is to try to be the MVP for this team every night," James told reporters after Game 2. "I know what I bring to the table. This league knows what I bring to the table."
TRENDS:
* Cavaliers are 7-0-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
* Celtics are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Conference Finals games.
* Over is 6-0 in Cavaliers last 6 home games following a road trip of 7 or more days.
* Over is 4-0 in Cavaliers last 4 home games.
* Road team is 9-2-1 ATS in the last 12 meetings.
CONSENSUS: 51 percent of users are siding with the home chalk Cleveland Cavaliers and 70 percent of are on the Over.