The NBA season begins on Tuesday night and the spotlight will be shining bright in Cleveland when the Cavaliers tip off with the Boston Celtics (7:35 p.m. ET, TNT).
These are the top two teams in the Eastern Conference and both look improved over last season. The Cavaliers added Shaquille O’Neal while the Celtics added Rasheed Wallace.
Cleveland is a 4.5 point favorite and the total is set at 186.5 at SBG Global.
The Cavaliers are getting a lot of NBA betting attention now that Shaq is teamed with LeBron James.
“Everybody in this league always looks at Shaq like the Godfather,” said James. “When you come into this league, you need to get to know him. He’s a guy you need to sign the papers with before you play a game. I’ve always been comfortable being around him. It’s not hard getting along with Shaq. His personality is great.”
The Cavaliers won a lot of games last season but still didn’t even make the NBA Finals as Dwight Howard and the Magic knocked them out. To make up for the shortfall, the Cavaliers were busy in the offseason. In addition to adding Shaq, the Cavs also picked up forwards Jamario Moon and guard Anthony Parker.
“This is probably the best team I’ve ever played on – on paper, anyway,” O’Neal said. “I’ve always been on management to get me the power forward I’ve needed and the shooters I’ve needed.”
Last season the Celtics and Cavaliers split their four meetings with each team winning at home. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 20.3 points per game while LeBron James averaged 27.5 points per game for Cleveland.
Here are the NBA betting stats for Tuesday’s game:
The Celtics are 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 road games. The Celtics are 0-5 ATS in the last five meetings in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers are 22-5 ATS in their last 27 versus the Atlantic. The Cavaliers are 11-3-1 ATS in their last 15 games as a favorite.
The under is 4-0 in the Celtics last four versus the Eastern Conference. The over is 4-0 in the Cavaliers last four home games. The under is 4-0 in the last four meetings between the two teams in Cleveland.
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