Boston Celtics vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 02/04/25

Boston Celtics ML over Cleveland Cavaliers (+110)

Both matchups between the Celtics and Cavs this season were tight, with the home team coming out on top on each occasion. Boston left a slightly better impression on me in those 2 games, as they thoroughly dominated the game at home, going up by as many as 21 points before winning by 3 in the end. In the return leg in Cleveland, they were up by 14 before blowing the lead late in the game. Both teams are in form and rely quite a bit on their three-point shooting to win games.

However, the experience is still on the Celtics’ side here, plus they have a chip on their shoulder going into the game as many people claim the Cavaliers are the team to beat in the East this season. They might have the better record, but I would still pick the Celtics in a 7-game series to go through. Boston has the best road record in the NBA at 19-6, they are at full strength and when that’s the case they are a hard team to beat. With 4 wins in 5 meetings, I’m comfortable siding with the defending champs here as a slight underdog to start our Celtics vs Cavaliers Same Game Parlay.

Kristaps Porzingis 2+ made threes (-230)

If there’s one flaw the Cavaliers have had this season on the defensive end, it’s their perimeter defense. Opponents are making 36.6% of their attempts, which puts the Cavs in the bottom 10 of the NBA. Kristaps Porzingis has been on a heater for a while and he will look to take full advantage here, just like he did in his last game at Cleveland back in early December. He finished that game by knocking down 3 from downtown en route to 21 points. In more recent games, KP finished January shooting 48.8% from three, while in his first game in February, he went 3-for-7 from deep in the win over Philadelphia. He’s cleared this line in 11 straight games. For those who want higher odds in their Celtics vs Cavaliers Same Game Parlay, they can back him to knock down 3 threes here. That bet has cashed 9 times in 11 games.

Darius Garland to score 20+ points (-150)

The only reason why Darius Garland failed to score 20 points in the win over Dallas is because he played just 23 minutes in a blowout win. Prior to that, he was on a streak of 5 straight games with at least 22 points, and cleared this line in 11 of 14 games in January while averaging 24.8 points per game. Boston didn’t have an answer for him in the most recent meeting, where he went for 22 points, which was also at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse like this game will be. I expect him to be aggressive here as the C’s are ranked just 14th in opponent points inside the paint, allowing 47.8 per game.

The three-point defense of the Celtics has been reliable for the most part this season, but over the past 3 games they are allowing 38.1% of threes to go in. That is an increase from their season average of 35.3%. The shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers had a field day shooting the ball from deep, connecting on 46.9% of their attempts. Garland should take full advantage of that here to cash our Celtics vs Cavaliers Same Game Parlay.