The Celtics better start winning road games if they want to win this NBA Playoffs series.  They probably took the Hawks too lightly and will get their act together versus the Cavaliers.  Boston did win the NBA Playoffs series against the Hawks and all their home games were blow outs wins, there road games were close all the way through.   They had big leads in their road game at Atlanta but couldn't finish the job.  It's was all about the refereeing. If they let the Boston Celtics play they would have won in NBA Playoff game 5. Give the Hawks 72 more free throw attempts in the first 6 games?  Looks like David Stern wanted a NBA Playoff game 7.  That's why the Hawks won 3 of them.  The oddsmakers at sportsbook.com currently have the Boston -9.5 favorites to Cleveland heading into this NBA Playoff betting matchup. 

The Celtics are just too deep for the Cavaliers, too many weapons, too many defenders, too many schemes of both ends of the floor.  The scariest thing for Boston is if this series goes to a 7th game, with LeBron taking over and winning it.   LeBron can win a game through pure will power, but an entire series against these Celtics is much more difficult.  Will this Cleveland vs Boston NBA Playoff Series be the same outcome that the MLB Playoffs told? 

The series should be a highly competitive and testy series, especially since the 2 teams don't like each other.  The Cavs need to play like they did in Games 4 & 6 in Washington, to win this series.  They may try to down play the dislike that Pierce and Lebron have for one another, but it will come into play.  The C's have the better squad.  LeBron is great but Cavs are too thin.  Only Coach Doc Rivers incompetence can stop the C's - which is possible if you watched the Hawks series.  The Celts should win because they have a few more offensive options than the Cavs. 

Some notes on this series: The Celtics hold the edge over the Cavs 10-7 in their playoff history. The C's are 7-1 at home against the Cavs in the playoffs.  Ray Allen led the Celtics in scoring with 23.8 points against the Cavaliers this season.  LeBron James averaged 32.3 points in only three games against the Celtics.  The Celtics and Cavaliers split the season series 2-2, with neither team winning a game on the road. 

Trends on this Matchup Tuesday night: Boston is 16-5-1 ATS in their last 22 home games.  Boston is 23-8 ATS in their last 31 games overall.  Cleveland is 7-3-2 ATS in the last 12 meetings with Boston.  The Under is 9-3 in Cleveland last 12 vs. Eastern Conference. 

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