A new week in the NBA will start with this conference tilt on Monday, March 6, so make sure you check out the best Celtics vs. Cavaliers betting pick and odds.

Boston will be playing the second game of a back-to-back set when they visit Cleveland at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Cavaliers are 2-point favorites on BookMaker Sportsbook, while the total is set at 220 points. These conference rivals will meet for the fourth time this season; the Cavaliers lead the series 2-1.

Celtics suffered a surprising home loss to the Nets

The Boston Celtics (45-19, 33-30-1 ATS) lost their top seed in the Eastern Conference after losing two of the previous three games. The most recent defeat came to the rebuilding Brooklyn Nets at home, which was rather surprising. The Celtics scored just 41 second-half points in a 115-105 loss and committed 19 turnovers while forcing 12 on the other end. Boston made nine three-pointers opposite Brooklyn’s 14.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 35 points, five rebounds, four assists, and game-high three steals. Jayson Tatum posted a double-double of 22 points and game-high 13 boards along with five dishes and two blocks, Derrick White had 16 points and four rebounds, while Marcus Smart contributed 13 points, game-high eight dimes, four boards, and three thefts.

SF Danilo Gallinari (ACL) and C Robert Williams (hamstring) are out indefinitely. G Malcolm Brogdon (ankle) is questionable to face Cleveland on Monday.

Cavaliers didn’t have trouble with the Pistons

The Cleveland Cavaliers (40-26, 35-28-3 ATS) bounced back from a tight road loss to the Boston Celtics with a comfortable 114-90 home victory over the Detroit Pistons. The Cavaliers won the third quarter by 20 points which decided the tilt and limited the visitors to 40.7% from the floor. Cleveland shot 49.5% in return and hit 14 triples opposite Detroit’s six, while the hosts were better in assists (29-19) and forced even 24 turnovers.

Darius Garland led the Cavs with a game-high 21 points, a game-high seven assists, and two steals. Donovan Mitchell added 20 points, four dishes, and two thefts, Evan Mobley recorded a double-double of 16 points and team-high 11 rebounds along with six dimes and game-high four blocks, while Jarrett Allen chipped in 15 points, five boards, and two steals.

Trends:

Boston:

  • 1-4 ATS in the last five games overall
  • 4-9 ATS in the last 13 Monday games

Cleveland:

  • 9-4 ATS in the last 13 games overall
  • 5-2 ATS in the last seven home games
  • 19-6-2 ATS in the last 27 home games vs. a team with a winning road record

Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Pick

All three H2H duels this season provided a lot of excitement and three close games, two of which went to overtime. I expect another tight encounter on Monday, but I am giving a slight advantage to the Cavaliers. The Cavs have the best defense in the NBA that allows 106.4 points per game, and that’s a nice way to compensate for the offense that isn’t even in the top 20 and averages 112.0 ppg. Cleveland is stronger in the paint, and I believe that is going to be vital in this tilt.

Pick: Take the Cavaliers at -1.5 (-125)

The Total

Each of the three H2Hs produced 227+ points this season and I am looking for another high-scoring affair even though we have two top-10 defenses here. I expect a tight clash that will likely go down to the wire, while another overtime cannot be excluded. Over is 5-2 in the Cavaliers’ last seven overall; Over is 5-0 in Cleveland’s previous five vs. a team with a winning straight-up record, while Over is 17-5 in the Cavaliers’ last 22 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.

Pick: Go Over 218.5 points (-130)