Out of the frying pan and into the fire. The Cleveland Cavaliers survived their grueling seven-game series against the Orlando Magic with a 106-94 win at home Sunday.
It's the first time the Cavaliers have advanced to the second round since 2018 and the first time they've won a playoff series without LeBron James since 1993.
Their reward? The NBA Finals favorite Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Oddsmakers are expecting a lopsided matchup between these two teams in the wake of the Cavaliers winning in Game 7. BetMGM opened the Celtics vs. Cavaliers series with Boston as a -1400 favorite and Cleveland listed at +800. That makes the Celtics the biggest series favorite in the second round or later since a 2018 showdown between the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz.
History certainly isn’t on Cleveland’s side, either. Teams listed at -1400 or higher in the second round or later are a perfect 18-0 dating back to 1990.
The series tips off Tuesday with the Celtics opening as 10.5-point favorites in Game 1. Boston won the regular-season series 2-1, but they were relatively close games as all three were decided by less than 10 points. The Celtics won the first two back in December, 120-113 and 116-107, before the Cavaliers won a classic in March.
Cleveland trailed by 22 points in the fourth quarter and were without star guard Donovan Mitchell. However, they stormed back behind a 20-point outburst from Dean Wade, eking out a 105-104 win. The comeback also snapped Boston’s 11-game winning streak at the time.
Wade’s status is uncertain for the second round. He was ruled out of the entire first round with a knee injury and the team hasn’t announced a timetable for his return. Meanwhile, the Celtics might very well be without Kristaps Porziņģis for the series after he suffered a calf injury during Boston’s first-round series win over the Miami Heat.
