NBA Playoff Betting Preview: Cavs vs. Celtics Game 5, May 25, 2017

  • May 25, 2017

by Jim Feist

The Cleveland Cavaliers look to win the East again and advance to the NBA Finals for the third straight year with a win in Game 5 tonight at Boston, Thursday, May 25, 2017.   The Cavaliers are 10-point road favorites and the total in Vegas is 215-. The home team is 1-3 SU/0-4 ATS in this strange series.

The Celtics got blown out of the water in Games 1 and 2 at home, as the Cavaliers took those first two games by an average of 28.5 points, including a 130-86 rout in Game 2. Boston has a ton of injuries, with guard Isaiah Thomas out, Jae Crowder (15.5 points and 7.8 rebounds in the series) battling a groin injury and F Jaylen Brown (hip pointer) questionable. Boston is 2-9 all time when down 3-1 in a playoff series. You never know what will happen in a game, but Vegas oddsmakers have already posted the line for the NBA Finals Game 1 (Warriors -7.5, total of 226 versus Cleveland).

#2 Seed Cleveland Cavaliers (62-32; 26-21 Away) – Ty Lue

  •  Cavaliers: #4 in the NBA in scoring, #2 in threes (.384%), #23 in free throws.
  • Defense: #19 in points allowed, #16 field goal shooting defense, #18 at defending the three.
  • 11-1 SU in playoffs. 6-2 SU vs Boston this season.  6-0-1 ATS away
  • Cleveland is on a 35-17-1 run over the total.
  • Game 4: Cavs roll late, 112-99, with a sizzling 65-42 second half.  The Cavaliers shot 59.5% from the field as Boston hasn’t been able to slow down this offense.

(Jim Feist is on a 115-68 NBA run.  NL Total of the Month cashes Thursday: Click: FastFactsToday)

#1 Boston Celtics (62-37; 35-15 Home)    – Brad Stevens

  • #1 Seed Celtics: #7 in scoring, #15 in points allowed, #9 in field goal shooting defense, #2 in three-point defense.
  • Marcus Smart plays with passion but has not been much of a factor — outside of Game 3. He stepped up with 27 points, 7 assists on 7-of-10 three-point shooting.
  • Game 3: Celtics win 111-108. Cavs led 66-50 at half, shooting 45.7% for the game, 16-of-39 on three-pointers, while the Celtics shot 46%, 18-of-40 threes. LeBron James had 11 points, Kevin Love 28, Kyrie Irving 29.
  • Boston is on an 8-1-1 ATS run, plus an 11-4 ATS run.

Head to head matchup:  Road team is 10-2-1 ATS, the under is 7-1 when these teams meet at Boston.

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