The Boston Celtics will look to end a five-game losing streak against Cleveland in the postseason when they take on the Cavaliers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals Friday as 5 1/2-point home underdogs at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Boston opened the series Wednesday with a crushing 117-104 loss as a four-point underdog to fall to 2-10 straight-up in its past 12 dates with the defending NBA champions ahead of Friday night?s Cavaliers vs. Celtics betting matchup at TD Garden.
The Celtics? Game 1 loss ended a five-game SU win streak for the team on home court, and leaves them with just two SU wins in their past six games since opening their second-round playoff series against the Washington Wizards with a pair of SU and against-the-spread victories.
Boston averaged 126 points per game in those wins, but has struggled on offense since, averaging just 104 points per game in its past six outings.
The club?s power outage becomes particularly worrisome in light of the Celtics? dismal offensive performance in recent playoff matchups with Cleveland at TD Garden, tallying just 93.7 points per game over their past six. However, Boston managed to escape with SU wins in two low-scoring affairs during that stretch, and covered the spread on four occasions, according to the OddsShark NBA Database.
While the Celtics look for silver linings, the Cavaliers continue their march toward a third straight appearance in the NBA Finals riding a 12-game SU win streak in the postseason. Cleveland has been an impressive performer at the sportsbooks, going 5-0-2 ATS over its past seven games, including wins by double-digit margins in four of its past five.
Following their win in Game 1, the Cavaliers saw their odds soar to -3000 on the NBA series prices after opening at -700. LeBron James dominated once again Wednesday night, building on his 29.1 points per game career average in previous ECF outings with a 38-point performance.
The Cavaliers have shown some inconsistency in totals betting. While the over is a strong 7-2 in Cleveland?s past nine games, it has gone just 3-5-1 in the club?s past nine playoff dates on the road, and a middling 9-8-0 in its past 17 overall.
Cleveland has failed to cover in seven of its past eight playoff games when pegged as road chalk of five or more points, but has seen the over prevail in each of its past three.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
