Cavaliers vs Celtics NBA Betting Game Preview (12/15/15)

It may still be pretty early days in the NBA betting season, but there can be no denying that the playoff race in the Eastern Conference is already turning into a very intriguing one. Cleveland have the lead right now, but they are a mere 2.5 games up on the Detroit Pistons in 8th. The Boston Celtics are just 2 games back of the Cavaliers right now, and they will try to close that gap when they play host to Cleveland on Tuesday night.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics Betting NBA Game Preview

Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2015 Time: 7:30 PM ET Venue: TD Garden View TV Schedule Here  

The Celtics have recalled forward Jordan Mickey from the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League.

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 14, 2015

 

Betting on Cleveland

The Cleveland Cavaliers (15-7) may be on top of the heap right now, but there are very few people who are impressed by how they got there. While it’s true that the Cavs have not been particularly dominant, especially on the road where they are just 5-6 so far, they have also had some injury issues to deal with. Perhaps the biggest of those is the absence of Kyrie Irving, who has yet to start this season. The rumors are that Irving is ready to play right now, but that the Cavaliers brass are not going to rush him back in at this early stage of the season. That would suggest that they are comfortable enough with their current level of play, otherwise you think they would be getting him back into the fray ASAP. The Cavaliers are coming into this one on a modest 2-game winning streak that included a rare road win in Orlando over the weekend. The Cavs were dominant in that one, winning 111-76, and they will hope that they can get back to .500 on the road with a win in Boston.

Betting on Boston

It has been something of an inconsistent start to the season for the Boston Celtics (14-10), but a 3-1 record last week has them coming into this big game on a bit of a high. The Celtics are finally starting to achieve a pretty decent balance between offense as defense, and are in the top 10 in both points scored and points against. They were also very unfortunate not to have a perfect un last week, as they took the Golden State Warriors to double OT before finally going down 124-119. All signs now point to a team that seems to have found its groove, although they will want to start improving on their home record of 7-5. If they can get things rolling at home, there is no reason why Boston can’t be challenging for top spot in the east at the end of the season.

Cleveland at Boston Game Analysis and Key Betting Trends

The Celtics have won 2 straight versus the Cavaliers, although those wins only allowed them to split the season series last year. I expect a very close one here, and while I think the Cavs will edge it, I believe the best bet is the UNDER, as that is what has come up in 6 of the last 7 meetings between these two. Boston is 5-0-1 ATS in its last 6 games Boston is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston’s last 6 games Boston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road Cleveland is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games Cleveland is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games The total has gone OVER in 11 of Cleveland’s last 16 games The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland’s last 6 games