The Boston Celtics have been much more competitive than expected against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first two games of this series, but the Cavs still lead 2-0. Will the Celtics climb back into the series with a victory at home, or will Cleveland take a huge 3-0 advantage.
Projected Starting Lineups
(2) Cleveland Cavaliers (53-29)
G Kyrie Irving – 21.7 ppg, 5.2 apg
G J.R. Smith – 12.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg
F LeBron James – 25.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 7.4 apg
F Kevin Love – 16.4 ppg, 9.7 rpg
C Timofey Mozgov– 10.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg
(7) Boston Celtics (40-42)
G Marcus Smart – 7.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.1 apg
G Avery Bradley – 13.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg
F Evan Turner – 9.5 ppg, 5.5 apg, 5.1 rpg
F Brandon Bass – 10.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg
C Tyler Zeller – 10.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg
What to watch for:
Can Boston play better at home?
Even though the Celtics have been competitive in the series, they've been missing an extra edge to get them over the top. Playing in front of their home crowd could give them the missing spark they need to control the game.
Can Cleveland get off to a faster start?
The Cavaliers have trailed in the first quarter in both games so far in the series, allowing the Celtics to hang around much longer than they should. If they give up an early lead to Boston again, Celtics fans will go into a frenzy and make it even harder for Cleveland to come back. The Cavs need to control this game from the opening tip and not give Boston any hope if they want to win this game.
Prediction: Celtics win 98-96
Boston has been scratching and clawing all series, and they've been playing well enough to win a game in this series sooner rather than later. I think they'll feed off the energy of the home crowd and pull out a close win.
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