Cleveland vs Boston: The Celtics will outplay the Cavaliers at the second attempt

Cleveland and Boston met in Ohio the day before yesterday. The Cavaliers managed to outscore the Celtics by 2 points. Will the Celts be able to take revenge? We’ll pick a few options to bet on.

J.B. Bickerstaff’s Cavaliers have six wins in their last seven games. In this period, the team from Ohio has managed to defeat such strong rivals as Charlotte, Toronto, and the New York Knicks. Besides Boston and a weak Detroit, they beat Portland at home. The Cavaliers lost only to Washington, who currently lead the Eastern Conference table. It looks like the rebuild in Cleveland can officially be considered complete.

Only Collin Sexton’s injury so far has marred the start of the season for the Cavaliers. The guard suffered a knee injury and may have torn his meniscus, which will keep the talented player out of the game for a long time. The increased burden now falls on the shoulders of Darius Garland and Sexton’s replacement in the starting lineup, Isaac Okoro, as well as the experienced Ricky Rubio coming off the bench.

Separately, heavy forward Evan Mobley is worth mentioning in Cleveland’s lineup. The rookie, selected by the Cavaliers with the third pick in last year’s draft, is scoring 15.6 points and grabbing 7.9 rebounds. So far, Mobley is the top contender for the rookie of the year title.

After Brad Stevens’ change of heart as a coach, it looked like Boston would end up as a team, but the most pessimistic predictions are not coming true. Under Aimee Udoka, the Celtics have already played some good games, especially defensively. The win-loss balance is still negative (6-7), but the new coach has just begun his tenure. No, Boston won’t fall apart. Udoka has proven far from a bad option for the Celtics, especially since the specialist will surely consult extensively with newly-formed general manager Stevens.

Cleveland are showing great at the start of the current season. But a fourth consecutive home success against Boston seems to be too much. The Celtics have beaten Milwaukee, Toronto, and Miami this season, so why shouldn’t they manage the Cavaliers, at least for the second time? The Celts are still without Jaylen Brown, but Josh Richardson should be back on the roster. In addition, Aimee Udok’s defensive progress is encouraging.

• W2 for 1.71;
• W2 and Total Under 199.5 for 3.20;
• Boston to win by 1-2 points for 10.50.