Celtics-Cavs: Second-Round Preview
After a 12-point win in Game Seven of the first round against the Orlando Magic, in which they trailed by 18 points at one point, the Cleveland Cavaliers will play the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. As of Sunday night, the Celtics are -1600 favorites to win the series. Sunday night's comeback victory for the Cavaliers was highlighted with a 39-point performance from shooting guard Donovan Mitchell 15 from Caris LeVert, 12 from Darius Garland, 11 from Evan Mobley, and 13 from Max Strus. However, they are going up against a powerhouse Celtics team who just bulldozed the Miami Heat, taking that series in a gentleman's sweep.
Throughout the five-game series, superstar Jayson Tatum averaged 21.8 points, which is roughly seven points lower than his season average of 26.9. During the 2023-2024 season, the Cavaliers were the 11th-best defensive team according to defensive rating, so they have a chance to keep Tatum’s points under control. However, Jarrett Allen, Cleveland’s starting center and their best defensive player, missed the final three games of the first round with a rib injury. As of Sunday morning, Allen’s injury status is still uncertain. In the three games that Allen missed, Mobley and Strus have played well filling in for him. The series is starting Tuesday night at 7:30 PM EST, which gives Cleveland two days of rest while the Celtics will have six days. Boston, the clear-cut best team in the playoffs, might show up Tuesday a little bit rusty because of the number of rest days this team had after defeating the Heat.
This series has the potential to be a lot more exciting than a lot of people are giving it credit for. The Cavaliers are coming off beating a really good Magic team while the Celtics are coming off winning that five-game series against the Heat, which is why this series is not circulating a lot of hype going into Tuesday night. I think if Allen can come back for game one, it can be an extremely fun series. My prediction for the Eastern Conference Semifinals is the Celtics in six games.
