Celtics vs. Cavaliers Game 5 Betting Preview, Odds, How To Watch

The Cleveland Cavaliers put up a helluva fight against the Boston Celtics without Donovan Mitchell in Game 4, but ultimately, they just didn’t have enough firepower to stay with them for 48 minutes. Mitchell is questionable for Game 5, but we’re not sure his status is going to have an effect on the outcome of this game either way—though it might make you rethink the massive point spread.

Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers NBA 2nd Round Game 5 Betting Odds

All odds provided by Sports Interaction.

When to Watch and How to Watch Celtics vs. Cavaliers Game 5

The No. 1 seed Boston Celtics will host the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal at TD Garden on Wednesday, May 15 at 7:00PM E.T. In Canada, basketball fans can rejoice at the fact that this game will be shown on their standard SN1 channel; streamers can watch on the Sportsnet app. In America, the game will be shown on TNT.

Celtics vs. Cavaliers Point Spread Betting Preview

With Donovan Mitchell sidelined for Game 4, we finally got a close one in this series, as the Celtics clearly underestimated Cleveland’s supporting cast, which actually led them 65-64 early in the third quarter.

Unfortunately for the Cavs, without Mitchell they simply didn’t have enough firepower, as they went just 4-for-23 from deep in the second half. Mitchell is suffering from a strained calf, which is an injury that is all too close to the Achilles, which likely means he’ll sit out again.

But even if he did play, we think the Celtics learned their lesson in Game 4 and will come out swinging in the first quarter of Game 5, looking to put this team away early and rob them of their belief.

It’s similar to a situation that occurred earlier in this postseason between the Bucks and Pacers. When the Pacers were up 3-1 in the series they went back to Milwaukee for Game 5. The Bucks didn’t have Damian Lillard or Giannis Antetokounmpo, so it was chalked up as an easy win for them—but not so fast.

They ended up losing that game (and losing by a lot), but they learned an important lesson that Charles Barkley harps on all the time: everyone in the NBA can play, and if you don’t take them seriously, they’ll make you pay. In the next game, back at home, the Pacers took care of business, winning by 22. 

We expect a similar bounce back from the Celtics in Game 5 here on Wednesday despite the enormous -14.5 point spread being offered by most sports betting sites. Not to mention that Boston was able to hold on in Game 4 despite shooting below 50 from the field and below 40 from deep, which means they should have their shooting boots on at the Garden on Wednesday.

Here are a few NBA betting trends from this season to consider:

• Boston is 6-3 ATS during the playoffs
• The Celtics are just 14-14 at home over the last four postseasons
• Boston is 11-9 ATS in their last 20 games as a double digit favorite
• Cleveland is 5-4 ATS as an underdog of 7.5 points or more
• Cleveland is 11-15 ATS as a road dog this year
• Boston is 46-37-5 ATS as the favorite this year
• Cleveland is 16-20 ATS as the underdog this season
• The Cavaliers are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games against Boston

Best Celtics vs. Cavaliers Player Props

Here’s a guy you probably didn’t think I’d mention here: Al Horford. The Dominican Republican is 37 now, but he can still play, as he’s been averaging over 30 minutes per game in this series with Kristaps Porzingis on the shelf. He has struggled mightily over the last two games, going 0-for-10 from deep, but he was decent in Games 1 and 2, putting up seven and 11 points.

Horford has been upping his game without Porzingis all year: in 19 regular season games he played where Porzingis was in street clothes, Horford averaged 11.6 points and put up 9+ in 14 of them. In his final four regular season appearances without the Latvian, he was even better, averaging 18 points a night.

He’s only shot 33 percent or worse in back-to-back games two other times this season without missing the next game, and in the contests directly following those, he scored 11 and 16 points. He should be more than capable of finding his jumper and hitting the over on his 8.5 points prop at -115 odds.