Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum reacts after a basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, in Philadelphia.
The Eastern Conference Semi Final series started exactly as Boston fans hoped it would. The Celtics dominated the Cavaliers in a 120-95 rout to set a commanding tone. The Cavs don’t have long to lick their wounds, with Game 2 taking place on Thursday night.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Game 2.
Date: Thursday, May 9
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: TD Garden, Boston
TV channel: ESPN
Spread: Boston Celtics -13.5 (-108) | Cleveland Cavaliers +13.5 (-112)
Moneyline: Boston Celtics -950 | Cleveland Cavaliers +628
Total: Over/Under 212 points
You wouldn’t have thought Kristaps Porzingis was out during the series-opener. The Celtics simply dominated the entire night. Led by Jaylen Brown and his 32 points, Boston made light work of a Cleveland outfit that struggled to do much of anything defensively.
The absence of Jarrett Allen really limited what the Cavs were able to do on the back-end, being physically outmatched time and time again when it came to snatching rebounds. If the Cavs have any chance of winning this game, they’ll need to find a way to stop the bleeding on the interior, with or without the former Brooklyn Net.
For Boston, this was only a taste of the damage they could do. Given that Porzingis was out, and Jayson Tatum had a rare slow day at the office, the Celtics got huge games from the likes of Payton Pritchard and were able to target Cleveland’s huge weakness on the defensive end.
With Allen down, it was down to Evan Mobley to try and stop this vaunted unit from ripping them to shreds and while he was serviceable, it was all too easy for the Celtics – something that’s likely only going to continue once Porzingis returns.
As scary as that opening game was for Cleveland fans, the Cavs are no strangers from having to bounce back from embarrassing losses. Over a two-game span during the opening round of the playoffs, the Magic outscored them 233-162. It was the Cavs who went on to win the series.
This spread is a large one, but the Cavs had one glaring weakness. Their offense was pretty solid and they moved the ball around nicely, with Donovan Mitchell headlining the show. If they can focus on bolstering the back-court to avoid being dominated when it comes to rebounds, they should be able to put up just enough fight to hang around in this one.
Betting pick: Cleveland Cavaliers +13.5
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