Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 5/15/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics

Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (+14)

TD Garden is where the Boston Celtics will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Celtics lead the series 3-1. Boston opens as 14-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 204.5.

The Cavaliers walked away from Game 4 with a loss by a score of 109-102. When talking about fouls, the Cavaliers walked away with 17 while the Celtics totaled 12 fouls. They also converted 12 of 32 shots from 3-point range. Boston shot 87.5% at the free throw line by making 21 of their 24 shots. Furthermore, Boston collected 48 rebounds (10 offensive, 38 defensive) and got 3 blocks. Boston doled out 15 assists and had 6 steals for this contest. In regard to the defense, Cleveland allowed their opponent to shoot 48.7% from the field on 38 out of 78 shooting. They also recorded 26 assists for this contest in addition to creating 14 turnovers and getting 8 steals. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned 32 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Cavaliers converted 5 of 7 tries for a percentage of 71.4%. Cleveland ended the contest having earned a 43.6% field goal percentage (41 out of 94) and made 15 of their 48 three-point shots.

Darius Garland is a guy who was a contributor in this contest. Garland ended up shooting 44.4% from the field and dished out 7 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 40 minutes and also snagged 3 boards. He left the arena with 30 points on 12 of 27 shooting.

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Cleveland comes into this matchup with a record of 48-34 this season. They are averaging 112.6 pts per contest (20th in the league) on 47.9% from the floor. The Cavaliers are shooting 36.7% on shots from beyond the arc (1,108 of 3,016) and 76.5% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Cleveland is pulling down 43.3 boards per game and is sitting with 2,299 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 8th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 13.6 times per game and as a team they commit 17.5 personal fouls per game.

Defensively, the Cavaliers are forcing 13.6 turnovers every game and they draw 18.7 fouls. They give up 37.1% from beyond the arc and they are 7th in the league in PPG allowed (110.2). The Cavaliers defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 46.3% (3,323 of 7,176) and they concede 42.7 boards per game as a squad. They rank 6th in the NBA in giving up assists to their opponents with 2,071 relinquished on the season.

Concerning rebounding in Game 4, Boston permitted Cleveland to grab 32 in all (8 offensive). They finished 31.3% from distance by shooting 15 of 48 and finished the game at 5 out of 7 from the free throw line (71.4%). The Celtics permitted the Cavaliers to make 41 of 94 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 43.6% in the game. When all was said and done, the Celtics finished shooting 38 out of 78 from the floor which had them shooting 48.7%. In relation to shooting from distance, Boston buried 12 of 32 tries (37.5%). They were able to make 21 of them for a percentage of 87.5%. The Cavaliers earned 17 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Celtics to the charity stripe for 24 shots. They also gave up possession 14 times, while getting 6 steals in the matchup. The Celtics snagged 38 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 48 for this game.

Jayson Tatum was important for the Celtics for the game. He converted 11 of 25 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 44.0%, and tallied 11 rebounds. Tatum accumulated 33 points in his 44 mins on the court and had 5 dimes in the matchup.

Boston has a mark of 64-18 so far this year. When it comes to offense, the Celtics are shooting 48.7% from the field, which ranks 8th in the NBA. Boston has 9,887 pts for the year (120.6 per game) and they collect 46.3 boards per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 26.9 times per game (14th in the league) and they turn it over 11.9 times per contest. The Celtics are committing 16.2 fouls every game while shooting 80.7% from the free throw line.

The Celtics are ranked 5th in basketball in points per game surrendered with 109.2. They are forcing 12.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 45.3% from the floor (2nd in the league). The Boston defense concedes 35.2% on 3-pointers (1,059 of 3,008) and their opponents are making 76.8% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 24.9 dimes and 43.3 boards every game, ranking them 5th and 14th in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Cleveland (+14)

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