NBA Betting Preview: Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Odds, Analysis

The Cleveland Cavaliers (43-17) are coming off a much-needed easy win Friday after failing to cover the spread in their previous three games along with six of their last eight.

Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics (38-25) had a surprisingly tougher matchup Friday but still came through with their fifth straight victory going into Saturday’s trip to Cleveland.

The Cavs opened as seven-point home favorites against the Celtics at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark despite losing the last meeting at Quicken Loans Arena one month ago.

Cleveland snapped its against-the-spread skid with a 108-83 rout of the Washington Wizards behind small forward LeBron James, who had 19 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in three quarters. The Cavs gave power forward Kevin Love the night off and employed a smaller lineup that was very effective versus a Washington team that beat them, 113-99, with James sitting out last Sunday.

Point guard Kyrie Irving also scored a game-high 21 points for Cleveland while dishing out eight assists to outplay counterpart John Wall.

In Boston, the New York Knicks nearly upset the Celtics but fell, 105-104, when forward Carmelo Anthony’s three-pointer missed in the final seconds. New York led, 100-92, with less than four minutes remaining but could not stop a late Boston run that saw four different Celtics score in the last 1:31.

Isaiah Thomas led Boston with a game-high 32 points and eight assists, and his individual matchup with Irving could be the difference against the Cavs. Thomas made just five of 19 shots from the field but went 11-of-11 from the free-throw line to finish with 22 points in a 104-103 win at Cleveland on February 5.

The Celtics have covered the spread in three of four overall and in four of the past five meetings with the Cavs, even though they have lost four of those games. While Cleveland is coming off a big victory, the team has failed to cover the last two times when playing the second game of a back-to-back situation.

Boston has enjoyed a lot more recent success in the second game of back-to-backs with a 4-1-1 mark ATS in its last six opportunities—winning five times—according to the Odds Shark NBA Database.