Cleveland at Boston

While James gets all the press, there are a couple of other reasons Cleveland had success vs. Washington. First, they dominated the glass to the tune of a 7.5 rebound per game advantage. Second, they were able to get scoring from others beyond LeBron as the Cavs had five double-digit scorers for the series. Things have been much different for Cleveland vs. the NBA top five defensive clubs this season. Detroit, Boston, San Antonio, Houston and New Orleans finished as the top five NBA teams in points allowed per game. The Cavs could do nothing vs. these teams offensively this year, and the positive rebound margin they enjoyed vs the Wizards was negative vs. these other clubs. Also, against the NBA elite defensive teams in seven games, Cleveland never had five players get to double-digits. In fact they had just just two players other than LeBron top 14 points! The Cavs consequently, averaged only 77.9 ppg in these seven games, shooting just 40% from the floor and 28.8% from three. The rebound surplus of 7.5 per game they enjoyed vs the Wizards was a -4.1 deficit vs the elite defensive teams. Even King James himself could muster only 22 ppg, compared to his 30 vs the Wiz. The offensive problems for the Cavs actualy showed itself vs. all the top playoff teams (.600 or better). Since November 28th, they played 11 games on the road vs these teams, and the UNDER prevailed in 10 of them! The Cavs can play some playoff defense, but they really struggle to find the bottom of the net vs top defensive teams. The Celtics showed what defense is all about on their home court, holding Atlanta to 77 ppg in the four games at the Garden. It has been the norm for the Celts at home all season. They have had 14 games vs playoff teams that have a winning percentage of over .600 at home, and 10 of the 14 have gone UNDER. The Celtics have allowed just 85 ppg to these teams. Playoff games become even more of a half-court game, and we look for this to fall well UNDER the posted total.