NBA Playoff Betting Preview
 Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics (Celtics lead 1-0)
 Thursday, 7:05 pm Eastern – ESPN

SBG Global Opening Line: Celtics  - 8.5, Total  178

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics will both try and play better than they did in game one as the teams meet in Boston on Thursday for game two.  It was an ugly game one that the Celtics won 76-72.  Both teams shot the ball poorly and Cleveland’s LeBron James was a disgrace going 2 of 18 from the field. James missed an easy layup with 9 second left in the game that would have tied it.  “I can’t play no worse than I did last night,” James said Wednesday, “You don’t expect those guys to have off nights like that. I don’t expect myself to have an off night like I did.”  SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Cavaliers on the Road.

Boston was not much better than Cleveland except for Kevin Garnett.  The other two players in the big three, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen combined to go 2 for 18 and Allen didn’t even score.  Garnett carried the Celtics with 28 points. “Offensively, we were a terrible-looking group,” Pierce said. “We turned the ball over 23 times, shot 40 percent from the field. We did just about everything wrong you could do offensively, and what happens, the defense comes and saves the day.”

SBG Global Current Line: Celtics  - 8.5, Total  177.5

Both teams will look to improve their offense on Thursday.  “I don’t expect Paul and Ray to have the struggles, and I don’t expect LeBron to have struggles either,” Celtics center Kendrick Perkins said. “So I think we’re in for a good Game 2.”

Here are the NBA betting stats for Thursday’s game.  The Cavaliers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 playoff games as an underdog. The Cavaliers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games. The Cavaliers are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 Conference Semifinals games. The Cavaliers are 35-17 ATS in their last 52 games as a road underdog. The Cavaliers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 Thursday games. The Cavaliers are 5-1-2 ATS in the last 8 meetings in Boston. The underdog is 7-0-1 ATS in the last 8 meetings between the two teams and the road team is 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings

The Celtics are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Thursday games. The Celtics are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games as a home favorite. The Celtics are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Conference Semifinals games.

The Under is 11-1 in the Cavaliers last 12 Conference Semifinals games. The Under is 10-3 in the Cavaliers last 13 overall. The Under is 6-2 in the Cavaliers last 8 games as an underdog.

The Under is 5-1 in the Celtics last 6 vs. the Central. The Under is 4-1 in the Celtics last 5 games as a home favorite.

Take the Celtics -8.5 3units