Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 2/28/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics

Date: Friday, February 28, 2025

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBC Sports Boston

TD Garden is where the Boston Celtics (42-17) will try to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers (48-10) on Friday.

The Cavaliers stepped onto the hardwood against the Magic and notched a win by a score of 122-82 in their last contest. Cleveland finished with a 56.3% FG percentage (45 of 80) and buried 19 out of their 32 shots from distance. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cavaliers buried 13 of 16 attempts for a rate of 81.3%. When talking about hauling in rebounds, they collected 47 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 25 assists in the matchup while creating 12 turnovers and having 5 steals. With respect to the defense, Cleveland allowed their opponent to shoot 36.7% from the floor on 33 of 90 shooting. Orlando distributed 21 assists and had 7 steals in this contest. Additionally, Orlando snagged 35 rebounds (12 offensive, 23 defensive) and had 5 rejections. Orlando shot 78.6% at the free throw line by knocking down 11 of their 14 shots. They knocked down 5 of their 28 attempts from 3-point range. When discussing personal fouls, the Cavaliers ended up walking away with 13 while the Magic finished the game with 14 personal fouls.

Ty Jerome is a player who was a factor in the game. He scored 20 points on 7 out of 12 shooting. He played for 21 minutes and snagged 2 rebounds. Jerome went 58.3% from the field and dished out 2 assists.

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Cleveland will enter this matchup with a win-loss mark of 48-10 for the campaign. They average 122.9 pts per game (2nd in basketball) while shooting 49.9% from the field. The Cavaliers are hitting 39.4% on shots beyond the perimeter (938 of 2,382) and 78.3% from the charity stripe. As a team, Cleveland is collecting 45.2 rebounds per contest and has earned 1,681 assists for the season, which ranks 7th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 13.2 times per contest and as a squad are committing 18.5 personal fouls per contest.

On defense, the Cavaliers are able to force 14.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.4 personal fouls. They surrender 35.9% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 10th in the league in points per game allowed (111.2). The Cavaliers defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 45.3% (2,373 of 5,236) and they surrender 42.9 rebounds per game as a squad. They rank 8th in the NBA in giving up assists with 1,474 relinquished this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Celtics took a loss by a final score of 117-97 when they faced the Pistons. The Celtics earned 25 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for this contest. They coughed up the ball 19 times, while recording 9 steals in the game. The Pistons committed 16 personal fouls in the game which took the Celtics to the charity stripe for a total of 15 shots. They were able to make 10 of them for a rate of 66.7%. In relation to shooting from downtown, Boston knocked down 21 out of 49 tries (42.9%). Overall, the Celtics went 33 out of 80 from the field which had them shooting 41.3%. The Celtics permitted the Pistons to make 47 of their 89 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 52.8% in this game. They went 39.4% from downtown by shooting 13 out of 33 and ended up going 10 of 17 from the free throw line (58.8%). In relation to rebounds, Boston allowed Detroit to get 51 in all (14 offensive).

Jayson Tatum ended up having an impact for the Celtics in the matchup. Tatum earned 27 points in his 33 minutes on the court and earned 3 assists for this game. He converted 10 out of 19 for the contest for a rate of 52.6%, and added 6 rebounds.

Boston has a mark of 42-17 for the campaign. The Celtics are committing 16.3 fouls every game and they shoot 79.6% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 25.8 times per contest (17th in basketball) and they are turning it over 12.0 times per contest. Boston has tallied 6,897 points on the campaign (116.9 per contest) and they pull in 44.9 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Celtics are shooting 46.1% from the floor, which ranks 17th in the league.

The Boston defense gives up 34.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (739 of 2,143) and opponents are making 79.3% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 24.1 assists and 44.3 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 3rd and 15th in the league. The Celtics defensively are ranked 3rd in basketball in points per game surrendered with 108.1. They are forcing 13.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 45.2% from the field (3rd in basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Cleveland

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