The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers play tonight in what should be one of the better games on the slate. As two of the Eastern Conference's top four teams face off, you won't want to miss any of the action. Below is the live stream link, betting line, TV schedule, a preview and prediction.
Game Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: Sportsnet One, FSOhio, CSN HD
Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Live Stream: NBA League Pass ($6.99 for individual game)
Free Live Stream: Stream2U
Betting Line: -6.5 CLE; 210 O/U
The Celtics and Cavs are both hot as of late, with the Celtics winning 10 of their last 13 and the Cavs winning five of their last six (though, their most recent game was a 106-97 loss to the Charlotte Hornets).
Tonight, the matchup will really have to do with how well Boston's defense can limit both Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. Irving himself is averaging 25 points per game in his past four contests, and James is always a threat to go off. If they can limit those two with combinations of Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Marcus Smart, the Celtics' chances will go way up.
But even so, Boston will need to score plenty in this game. While that's been an issue over the course of the 2015-16 campaign, it hasn't been during this recent stretch where they're averaging right around 110 points per contest.
For Cleveland, the key will be getting everyone involved. If James and Irving are able to be distributors early on with others such as J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova hitting their shots, it'll open up the floor for their two best players the rest of the game. Truly, tonight will be a case of Cleveland having to play as a team if they're to win, as Boston excels defensively and has a myriad of different lineups it could throw at the Cavs.
Home court advantage generally plays a role, but the Celtics should hang tough as they're nearly as good away (14-12) as they are at home (15-10).
Overall, this should be a fun game to watch.
Prediction: Cavs 108, Celtics 105
