The Boston Celtics brought excitement to the start of our weekend back on Friday night with the return of Jayson Tatum, and now they’re helping us close out the weekend in the same way. Well, it’s actually the first game of the Sunday slate, but with a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview on deck, we’ve got our best Celtics vs. Cavaliers predictions for today.

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🤔 Celtics vs. Cavaliers Predictions for NBA on ABC, 3/8

What’s kind of crazy is that all year, the question marks have been surrounding Jayson Tatum’s return, and as soon as he returns, many more have arisen with this matchup. For one, we won’t have Nikola Vucevic as part of our Celtics vs. Cavaliers predictions, as he broke his thumb on Friday night and now requires surgery.

Furthermore, we also may not see any NBA expert picks focused on Donovan Mitchell, as he continues to miss time with a groin injury. That said, we did learn that he was a full participant in practice on Friday. As of right now, we’re going to proceed with Celtics vs. Cavaliers predictions as if he WILL be playing today.

Speaking of Spida missing time, we actually haven’t even seen the Cavs on the court since Tuesday, making this some of the most rest we’ll ever see an NBA team have at any point in the season. It was also a massive win over the conference-leading Detroit Pistons, but of course, Boston is another potential #1 seed.

It all adds up to the fact that having a best bet from our Celtics vs. Cavaliers predictions is an absolute must… 

🔥 Celtics vs. Cavaliers Best Bet: Sam Hauser Over 8.5 Points (-115 at Onyx Odds)

As you could have safely assumed, this is not the first time that we’re making Celtics vs. Cavaliers picks this year - it will be the third. Of course, the first ones not only didn’t include Jayson Tatum, but they were also made while Cleveland still featured Darius Garland rather than James Harden.

Well, having mentioned all these big names, we see value elsewhere with our Celtics vs. Cavaliers predictions. While everyone’s locked in on Tatum, Jaylen Brown and even Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser is going a bit under the radar. After all, we had 21 in 21 minutes against the Cavs earlier this year.

In fact, that was OFF THE BENCH! Admittedly, he didn’t get near that mark in the other matchup, but as you can see, we aren’t asking for nearly that many points today. Either way, the volume will be there while Cleveland is worried about the aforementioned trio of Tatum, Brown and Pritchard (and even Derrick White).

It may not be the play that you were expecting, but the best bet from our Celtics vs. Cavaliers predictions is on Sam Hauser over 8.5 points (-115 at Onyx Odds).

 

👀 How To Watch Celtics vs. Cavaliers Today

Again, this is the very first game of the all-day Sunday slate, so we’ve made sure to share how to watch Celtics vs. Cavaliers today:

  • Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, OH
  • When: 1 PM ET on 3/8
  • Watch on TV: ABC
  • Where to stream: ESPN+

🔢 Celtics vs. Cavaliers Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines

Given that this is a matchup that could end up deciding a trip to the NBA Finals later in the spring, we fully expected the Celtics vs. Cavaliers odds for today at Onyx Odds to suggest a tight matchup:

✍🏼 Celtics vs. Cavaliers Injury Report & Latest News

As if it hasn’t been stated enough the past few days, the return of Jayson Tatum is the headliner, including for Celtics vs. Cavaliers injuries. We’ll also reiterate that Nikola Vucevic now has to undergo surgery for his broken finger.

Regarding Cleveland in terms of Celtics vs. Cavaliers injuries, all eyes remain on Donovan Mitchell, not to mention Jarrett Allen and Dean Wade. We’ll also add that Max Strus has been cleared for on-court work. With plenty of Celtics vs. Cavaliers injuries to monitor, be sure to bookmark our Fantasy Alarm NBA injury report!

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