NBA Playoff Betting – Rondo Makes the Celtics the NBA Bet on Tuesday Night

The Boston Celtics are big NBA Playoff betting underdogs to win their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. The odds makers awarding Boston so many points makes sense as the last time the Cavs had their backs to the wall, in Game 3 last Friday, they responded with a 124 to 95 victory.

The Celtics didn’t know what hit them in that game as LeBron James racked up 38 points, 7 assists and 8 rebounds, but the Celtics responded in Game 4 with a 97 to 87 victory. In that game, LeBron James scored only 22 points although he did have 8 assists and 9 boards.

This has to be one of the strangest series in recent memory. Even though the series is tied 2-2, and both teams have gone 2 and 2 against the NBA Playoff wagering line, there hasn’t been a very close game out of the 4 so far played.

The Celtics have beaten the Cavs by 18 and 10 points. The Cavs have beaten the Celtics by 8 and 29 points. Which team is going to come out strong on Tuesday night? First, let’s check out the online NBA betting line for this game.

Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

When: May 11th, 2010 at 8:00 pm EST

Boston Celtics +7 ½ -110 O 193 ½ -110

Cleveland Cavaliers -7 ½ -110 U 193 ½ -110

The trends point to Cleveland as the team to cover the spread in this game.

• The Cleveland Cavaliers are 5 and 1 ATS in their last 6 home games versus a team with a winning percentage of greater than .600.
• The Cleveland Cavaliers are 4 and 1 ATS in their last 5 games following an ATS loss.
• The Boston Celtics are 2 and 8 ATS in their last 10 games following an ATS victory.
• The Boston Celtics are 24 and 11 ATS in their last 35 games as a road underdog of 5 to 10 ½ points.

I’m throwing out the trends again. Since Game 1 of this series, my belief has been that the Cleveland Cavaliers could not stop Rajon Rondo. The one time they did stop him, in Game 3, they won by close to 30 points, but that’s because the rest of the Celtics didn’t pick up the slack with Rondo having a less than stellar game.

I don’t expect that to happen again. Rondo torched the Cavs for 29 points, 13 assists and 18 rebounds in Game 4. Simply put, the Cavaliers cannot guard Rajon Rondo. Now, Cleveland coach Mike Brown is going to try LeBron James on Rondo.

James is an excellent defender but if James helps on Rondo, or, for some crazy reason, guards him straight-up, then Boston’s Paul Pierce should have a field day on the court. Pierce had only 9 points in Game 4 because James shut him down and the Celtics still won by 10.

That’s tough to deal with. Stop Rondo and Pierce could beat you. Stop Pierce and Rondo does his best Oscar Robertson impression again. Yes, the Cavaliers can win this game, but they shouldn’t be 7 ½ point favorites, not with Rondo and Pierce dressed in white and green. Boston stubbed its toe in Game 3, but they won’t let that happen to them again.

The bottom line is that the Celtics have proven capable of stopping LeBron and without LeBron, the Cavaliers won’t win. If the Celtics commit to stopping Rajon Rondo, then either Kevin Garnett or Paul Pierce or Ray Allen should have a big game.

The Boston Celtics are the NBA Playoff wagering pick against the spread in this game.

NBA Free Picks: Boston Celtics +7 ½