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Cavaliers vs Celtics Game 2 Picks, Odds | NBA Playoffs Prediction

Michael Crosson
Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert
4 minute read

The second round of the NBA Playoffs continues with an excellent 2-game slate on Thursday night -- and the first matchup of the evening we'll preview is Cavaliers vs. Celtics Game 2, which is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Cavs are huge 13.5-point underdogs on the spread in Thursday's contest, while the total is set at over/under 213 total points at DraftKings.

Here's everything you need to know about Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Celtics and Cavaliers -- the latest betting odds, as well as our expert picks and prediction for the NBA Playoffs on Thursday, May 9.

For more basketball action, check out our NBA odds.

Cavaliers vs Celtics Odds

CLE @ BOS Odds

  • Full Game
  • 1H
  • 1Q
  • 2Q
  • 3Q
  • 4Q
  • Spread
  • Total
  • Moneyline
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
+13 -110 +8.5 -110 +8.5 -114 +8.5 -115 +7.5 -110 +8.5 -112 +7.5 -115 +8.5 -117 +13 -110  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
-13 -110 -8.5 -110 -8.5 -106 -8.5 -105 -7.5 -120 -8.5 -108 -7.5 -115 -8.5 -109 -13 -110  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
o212.5 -110 o108.5 -110 o108.5 -110 N/A o108.5 -120 o108.5 -110 o108.5 -120 o108.5 -110 o212.5 -108  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
u212.5 -110 u108.5 -110 u108.5 -110 N/A u108.5 -110 u108.5 -110 u108.5 -110 u108.5 -118 u212.5 -112  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
+660 N/A +350 +360 +270 +350 N/A +410 +640  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
-1000 N/A -480 -500 -500 -455 N/A -625 -950  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
+13 -110 +8.5 -115 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A +5.5 -107 +13 -110  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
-13 -110 -8.5 -105 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A -5.5 -122 -13 -110  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
o212.5 -110 o104 -110 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A o103.5 -110 o212.5 -108  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
u212.5 -110 u104 -110 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A u103.5 -121 u212.5 -112  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
+660 N/A +225 N/A N/A N/A N/A +230 +640  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
-1000 N/A -290 N/A N/A N/A N/A -305 -950  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
+13 -110 +4.5 -105 +4.5 -110 +4.5 -105 +4.5 -125 +4.5 -105 +4.5 -125 +4.5 -124 +13 -110  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
-13 -110 -4.5 -115 -4.5 -110 -4.5 -115 -4.5 -105 -4.5 -115 -4.5 -105 -4.5 -103 -13 -110  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
o212.5 -110 o54.5 -110 o54.5 -104 N/A N/A o54.5 -105 o54.5 -110 o54.5 -107 o212.5 -108  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
u212.5 -110 u54.5 -110 u54.5 -122 N/A N/A u54.5 -115 u54.5 -120 u54.5 -122 u212.5 -112  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
+660 N/A +235 +260 N/A +240 N/A +240 +640  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
-1000 N/A -300 -350 N/A -298 N/A -315 -950  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
+13 -110 +4 -115 +3.5 -104 N/A +3.5 -110 +3.5 -108 +3.5 -110 +4.5 -115 +13 -110  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
-13 -110 -4 -115 -3.5 -118 N/A -3.5 -120 -3.5 -112 -3.5 -120 -4.5 -113 -13 -110  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
o212.5 -110 o54 -115 o54.5 -106 N/A N/A o54.5 -102 o54.5 -110 o54.5 -105 o212.5 -108  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
u212.5 -110 u54 -115 u54.5 -120 N/A N/A u54.5 -118 u54.5 -115 u54.5 -125 u212.5 -112  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
+660 N/A +205 N/A N/A +195 N/A +235 +640  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
-1000 N/A -260 N/A N/A -238 N/A -315 -950  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
+13 -110 +4 -115 +3.5 -108 N/A +3.5 -120 +4 -112 +3.5 -120 +3.5 -106 +13 -110  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
-13 -110 -4 -115 -3.5 -112 N/A -3.5 -110 -4 -108 -3.5 -110 -3.5 -124 -13 -110  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
o212.5 -110 o52 -115 o52.5 -102 N/A N/A o52.5 -115 o52.5 -120 o51.5 -121 o212.5 -108  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
u212.5 -110 u52 -115 u52.5 -125 N/A N/A u52.5 -105 u52.5 -110 u51.5 -110 u212.5 -112  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
+660 N/A +198 N/A N/A +205 N/A +205 +640  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
-1000 N/A -250 N/A N/A -250 N/A -275 -950  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
+13 -110 +2.5 -115 +1.5 -105 N/A +1.5 -115 +2 -108 +1.5 -110 +2.5 -118 +13 -110  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
-13 -110 -2.5 -115 -1.5 -115 N/A -1.5 -115 -2 -112 -1.5 -115 -2.5 -109 -13 -110  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
o212.5 -110 o51.5 -115 o51.5 -104 N/A N/A o51.5 -102 o50.5 -125 o51.5 -110 o212.5 -108  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
u212.5 -110 u51.5 -115 u51.5 -122 N/A N/A u51.5 -118 u50.5 -110 u51.5 -121 u212.5 -112  
Final
Cleveland Cavaliers 567 Cavaliers
+660 N/A +134 N/A +135 +145 N/A +145 +640  
Boston Celtics 568 Celtics
-1000 N/A -164 N/A -170 -175 N/A -190 -950  

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Cavaliers vs Celtics Picks & Prediction

Once again, congratulations to the Cavaliers on winning a thrilling seven-game series against the Magic in the opening round. Winning a playoff series is no easy feat, and they should be proud of their accomplishment regardless of the opponent. But now that’s over, I must ask, did they really wanna’ know how much worse they are than the top-seeded Celtics? Well, ready or not, here it comes…

The Celtics lead the entire NBA in 3-point attempts per game (42.5), and they knock them down at the second-best clip (38.8%), which equates to the best offensive rating (123.2) in the league by a considerable margin and the second-highest scoring average at 120.6 points per game.

Not to mention, the Celtics also rank 3rd in team defensive rating (111.6), which falls directly behind the Magic (111.3), who just held the Cavaliers to 95.9 points per game on 44% from the field and 29% from 3-point range in a lengthy seven-game series in the previous round.

The Cavaliers play good defense, ranked 7th in the NBA in defensive rating, and that’s exactly how they got here. However, the Cavs simply don’t have enough offensive firepower to run with Boston in this series, and the natural imbalance in scoring ability between these two teams was on full display in Game 1 on Tuesday night.

In Tuesday’s series opener, Boston had an answer for every single tactic Cleveland threw at them. It was a track meet out of the gate, and the Celtics won the first quarter by a score of 40-34. Then, the Cavs tried to slow down the pace and make it ugly in the second quarter, but that didn’t phase Boston either, as the Celtics won Quarter 2 by a score of 19-15. It was back to the races in the third quarter with Cleveland trailing by double digits, and of course, the C’s prospered again at a tally of 33-28. And then in the fourth quarter, it was simply all Boston from start to finish, as the Celtics won the final stanza by a 10-point margin (28-18) to complete a dominant 25-point victory in Game 1.

Any way you slice it, the Cavaliers aren’t built for a title run, but this is a particularly awful matchup for Cleveland. The Celtics oftentimes force opposing teams to try to match their production from 3-point range, and while that naturally yields a certain level of variance in their results game-to-game, the Cavs simply don’t have enough offensive weaponry to compete with Boston in an extended 3-point shootout barring an absolute miracle.

Credit to the Cavaliers. They came into this series with a game plan, and they certainly tried to match the Celtics’ long range shooting in Game 1, as Boston jacked up 46 3-point attempts on Tuesday night, while Cleveland countered with 42. The only problem was, the Celtics knocked down 18 of their 46 (39.1%) 3-point attempts, and the Cavs only hit 11-of-42 (26.2%) – which may be indicative of what’s to come moving forward for a Cleveland team that’s shot 71-of-251 (28.3%) from 3-point territory through eight playoff games thus far.

Pick: Celtics -13.5 (-110)

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Cavaliers vs Celtics Game Time & TV Channel

Date: Thursday, May 9
Matchup: Central vs. Atlantic
Venue: TD Garden
Location: Boston, MA
Time-TV: ESPN, 7:00 p.m. ET

Cavaliers vs Celtics Betting Stats

1) Boston Celtics
(1st Place, Atlantic)

  • Odds to Win Finals: -115
  • Odds to Win Conference: -420
  • Odds to Win Series: -8000
  • SU: 64-18
  • ATS: 43-38-1
  • O/U: 37-44-1
  • PPG: 120.6
  • OPPG: 109.2

Click this link for the latest betting trends and market movements leading up to the NBA Finals!

3) Cleveland Cavaliers
(2nd Place, Central)

  • Odds to Win Finals: +20000
  • Odds to Win Conference: +6500
  • Odds to Win Series: +1800
  • SU: 48-34
  • ATS: 39-43
  • O/U: 40-41-1
  • PPG: 112.6
  • OPPG: 110.2

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Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson
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