The Eastern Conference Semifinals continue on Sunday as the Boston Celtics are favored in NBA betting as they host the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4. The Celtics have had some success recently vs. the basketball betting line at home against the Cavaliers and that could continue on Sunday.
NBA betting trends do point to the Celtics in this Sunday game that can be seen on ABC television. Before Game 3 of this series, the Celtics had won 9 of the last 10 at home against Cleveland and they were 7-3 against the point spread. The teams split their two meetings in the regular season at Boston and both games went over the total.
This is a series where neither team likes one another. Emotions run high and the games are physical. Two years ago the teams met in the conference semifinals and Boston won in seven games. This could end up being a home team series. Before the first game of this series the Celtics had won 21 of their 25 home postseason games over the last three years, while Cleveland had won 14 of 16. In this series the home team had won 17 of the last 19 games.
The Cavaliers are expected to make the NBA Finals but to do so they have to get past Boston in this series and then they would likely have to get past Orlando. Perhaps a coronation of LeBron James and the Cavaliers is a bit premature. James averaged 31.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 8.2 assists in the series against the Bulls.
Two years ago the average score in this playoff series was 85-84. There should be more offense this time around. If the Celtics can limit their turnovers they have a chance to beat Cleveland in basketball betting. Rajon Rondo is the best guard in this series and he could give Boston a chance. Mo Williams probably can’t handle Rondo so the Celtics need to exploit that advantage. The Cavaliers have LeBron James though and oftentimes he is enough. In this series though they may need players like Antawn Jamison and Williams to hit some shots.
Even though this series has been dominated by the home team neither Boston nor Cleveland was that great during the regular season vs. the NBA betting odds at home. The road team may have some value in this series.