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Cleveland Cavaliers (43-14) at Boston Celtics (35-19) Fleet Center, Boston, MA, 2/25/10, 8 PM
The Cavaliers and Celtics may both see their window for a championship close this season, but for completely different reasons. Boston sees its big three, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, who led them to a World Championship only two years ago, aging quickly. Cleveland faces the prospect of Lebron James leaving via free agency at the end of the year. In order to combat the exodus, the Cavs made a trade to bring Antawn Jamison to the midwest from DC, making them arguably the best team in the league, and contenders for the title.
While Boston is 6 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the top seed in the East, the currently 3rd seeded Celtics are only 1 1/2 games behind Orlando for the second seed. With less than 30 games to go in the regular season, a top seed might not be out of the question for the Celtics, but certainly wins become crucial at this point in the season. If the playoffs started today, the Celtics would be matched up with the Bulls in a rematch of last year''s instant classic first round series. Getting to the two-seed would allow them to face the Heat. The Celtics have played well this month, aided by Ray Allen who has picked up the slack left by Paul Pierce. Pierce has failed to score in double digits in two of the last four games.
After winning five straight games to begin the month, the Cavs have gone on a bit of a slide the last few games, with three straight losses after the All Star break. Jamison struggled in his first game as a Cavalier, failing to convert from the field in 12 attempts. He made up for it in his second game though, scoring 19 points to go with eight rebounds in 31 minutes. Despite the modest losing streak, James has played well. In the 118-116 loss to the Nuggets on February 18, he put up monster numbers dropping 43 points, 13 rebounds, and 15 assists.
With only one matchup thus far, in the season opener, the Celtics beat the Cavs. This game represents the first of three that will occur in the next month and a half. The Cavaliers could use a win to help solidify themselves as the top team in the East. The Celtics need to make up ground, and quick. A tough matchup should make for a great game.
Cleveland Betting Trends:
Cleveland is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games |
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Cleveland is 14-3 SU in its last 17 games
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The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland''s last 7 games
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Cleveland is 1-4-2 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
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Cleveland is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games on the road
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The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland''s last 6 games on the road
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Cleveland is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Boston
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Cleveland is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Boston
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Cleveland is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Boston
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Cleveland is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
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Boston Betting Trends:
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Boston is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games
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Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
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The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Boston''s last 8 games
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Boston is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
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Boston is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games at home
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The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston''s last 6 games at home
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Boston is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Cleveland
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Boston is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Cleveland
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Boston is 3-9-1 ATS in its last 13 games when playing at home against Cleveland
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Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Cleveland
Stats by Bodog.com
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