Posted on 5/12/2008 1:32:01 PM

NBA Playoff Betting Action – Cavs Look to Tie Series at Home

By Eric Williams

So, the Boston Celtics, (72-20 SU, 57-33-2 ATS, 41-50-1 O/U) seemingly can’t win an online betting playoff game on the road this postseason despite being the league’s best road team in the regular season, going a spectacular 31-10 away from the comfy confines of their TD Bank North Garden home floor.

After dropping Game 3 in their second round sports betting series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, (50-41 SU, 43-48-0 ATS, 41-48-2) 108-84 in the BetUS Sportsbook, failing to cover as two-point underdogs, the Celtics enter tonight’s Game 4 contest saying the time to learn from their erroneous road woes is now.

"We can't spot a team 15-20 points and try to dig ourselves out of it," Celtics all-star forward Kevin Garnett said. "We talked about that in the locker room, that we need to play with the same urgency like we have at home. We can definitely play better, and we will."

"On the road, it's going to take a little bit more," said Celtics all-star forward Paul Pierce. "We've got to learn our lesson pretty soon."

Despite shutting down LeBron James once again, limiting the Cavaliers’ best players to 21 points on a dismal 5-for-16 shooting mark, the Celtics had no answer for Cleveland’s ‘complimentary’ players.

Cleveland got key contributions from point guard Delonte West, veteran power forward Joe Smith, center Ben Wallace and dead-eye shooter Wally Szczerbiak.

West made four 3-pointers on the night and scored 21 points to go along with seven assists while Smith shot 7-of-8 from the field, scoring 17 points and pulling down six rebounds.

Szczerbiak added 16 points while Wallace got nine points and nine rebounds and played tough defense all game around the basket.

Despite the fact that James is shooting 22 percent for the series, the budding superstar says he can hurt the Celtics in other ways.

"I am not a one-dimensional player," James said. "I do other things. I can't let my shooting affect the rest of my game.

“Of course I haven't shot the ball like I would have liked," James added. "But the win is all that matters. I can't worry about the way I'm shooting the ball. If I'm not making shots, I'm able to get steals or blocks. I do so much more than just shoot the ball, and the key is that other guys stepped up."

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said his team just needs to bring more intensity to their road games.

"Our guys saw what they need to do," Rivers said. "It's not a lot of Xs and Os."

The Cavaliers have covered the spread in three of their last four games while the Celtics have gone 2-2 against the spread over the same span.

Here is a look at tonight’s key trends, followed by my analysis and NBA Betting Picks.

The Celtics are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a SU loss of more than 10 points.

The Celtics are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. loss.

The Cavaliers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. NBA Atlantic.

The Cavaliers are 25-10 ATS in their last 35 Monday games.

The Over is 4-0 in Celtics last 4 road games vs. a team with a home winning percentage of greater than .600.

The Under is 4-0 in Cavaliers last 4 games following a ATS win.

The Celtics are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 meetings in Cleveland.

The Celtics are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 meetings.

The Underdog is 7-2-1 ATS in the last 10 meetings.

Analysis: While something in the back of my brain keeps telling me the Celtics are eventually going to win a road game this postseason, (and that ‘something’ made me take the Celtics to cover the spread in Game 3), I just don’t see Boston winning this game, particularly since LeBron James is more than due for a breakout contest. Take the Cavaliers to cover and win outright once again, tying this series in the process.

NBA Free Picks: Cavaliers -2½ Points/Over 182 Total Points

08:05 PM EST NBA Odds

Boston Celtics +2½ -110

Cleveland Cavaliers -2½ -110

Over 182 -110

Under 182 -110

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