Cleveland at Boston

The heat is on the Cavaliers, as they face a must win in this one, which usually means defensive intensity right out of the gate. We saw it last game in which these teams combined for 94 first-half points. Both of these teams have recorded an extended period of low-scoring games off of the type of game they had in game five. Boston is playing to the UNDER at 28-13 when coming off of a 10+ win, while the Cavs are 26-12 to the UNDER off a 10+ home loss. The Cavs were absolutely embarrassed last game and that usually means intense defense from the get-go the next game. Cleveland is 25-10 UNDER in the first half the last 35 times they have gone on the road to revenge a loss in which they gave up 110+ points the last game. The last 11 times the Celtics have played a home playoff game when leading in a series, they are a perfect 11-0 UNDER in the first-half. Intensity is the name of the game here. Cleveland is motivated to atone for their worst loss in memory. Boston knows what's at stake. I expect a lot of defense in the first half.