Celtics vs Cavaliers Prediction, Picks & Odds - Game 3

Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley helped lift the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, stealing away home-court advantage from the Boston Celtics.

The Cavs will now look to take advantage of their home court tonight and corner the Celtics into a 2-1 deficit, and we like them to keep things close in a nailbiter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Find out more in our Celtics vs Cavaliers predictions and NBA picks for May 11th.

Celtics vs Cavaliers prediction

My best bet
Cavaliers +7.5 (-112 at DraftKings)

My analysis

Of all of the semi-conference matchups, the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers butting heads was deemed the most lopsided. However, after a 29-point performance from Donovan Mitchell, the Cavaliers have evened up the series and stolen away home-court advantage from the heavily favorited Celtics.

Now the question becomes if Cleveland can replicate Thursday’s success. While it's not wise to expect to shoot nearly 25% better from the perimeter as the Cavs did on Thursday (46.4% to Boston’s 22.9%), the Celtics not only shot 24 free throws to the Cavs’ 18 but also shot 15% better from the charity stripe (83.3% to Cleveland’s 68.8%).

Cleveland also managed to win the game convincingly without Jarrett Allen, who has missed five straight games with a rib injury, but participated in shootaround and could very well suit up for tonight's game. 

If the Cavs can get any additional production from the likes of Darius Garland and Max Strus, that would also be a huge benefit. The duo has reached their regular season averages just twice in each of Cleveland’s nine postseason games thus far.

Celtics vs Cavaliers same-game parlay (SGP)

Cavaliers +7.5

Max Strus Over 1.5 threes

Al Horford Under 9.5 points

+370 at DraftKings

After averaging just 6.3 points in the first four games of the opening round, Strus came alive and averaged 13 ppg in the final three games of the series.

In Games 5 and 7 in particular, he chipped in a total of seven 3-pointers. Meanwhile, if Allen does indeed manage to play, Al Horford will have his hands full matching up against both Allen and the defensive prowess of Evan Mobley.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Celtics vs Cavaliers odds

Celtics vs Cavaliers live odds

Get the latest Celtics vs Cavaliers NBA playoff odds for Game 3.

Celtics vs Cavaliers opening odds

• Spread: Boston -7.5 (-110) | Cleveland +7.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: Boston -300 | Cleveland +250
• Over/Under: Over 213.5 (-105) | Under 213.5 (-115)

Celtics vs Cavaliers spread and Over/Under analysis

• Cleveland is 9-4 ATS as an underdog of 5.5 points or more.
• Boston has slightly favored Overs on the year at 46-43 (51.7%), putting them slightly above average league-wide in that regard.
• The Cavaliers are the NBA's third-friendliest Over team on the season at 25-18-1 (58.1%) but have gone an even 4-4 on totals as a home underdog.

Celtics vs Cavaliers trend

The Cavaliers have hit the 4Q game total Under in 50 of their last 82 games (+16.70 Units / 18% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Celtics vs. Cavaliers.

Celtics vs Cavaliers game info

Celtics vs Cavaliers latest injuries

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