Donovan Mitchell was a late scratch for the Cavaliers in Game 4 with a calf issue, but even without their best player the Cavs put up a solid fight against the Boston Celtics. In the end they lost by just 7 points, in what was the closest finish to a game in this series so far. Mitchell’s injury has prompted the bookmakers to increase the spread to a massive 14.5 points on Cleveland, making it a very tempting bet. Especially since we still don’t know if he’ll play or not, the extent of the injury was not revealed prior to Game 4. Cleveland did win Game 2 at TD Garden in convincing fashion, the Celtics do have a knack for disappointing in home games – they’re just 15-15 SU in their last 30 postseason games in this building.

Getting 33 points from Jayson Tatum on Monday was a welcome sign for many Celtics fans, as he matched his highest point total of the postseason from Game 4. Tatum has struggled a bit to start these Playoffs, averaging just 21.8 points in the series vs Miami, he finally appears to be settling in. Closing out opponents is the toughest thing you can do in the NBA, in 19 such games Tatum has a 11-8 SU record while averaging 24.6 points per game. I do see Boston winning tonight and sending the Cavs to Cancun, but I’m not sure it’ll be in a blowout win. Cleveland has lost by more than 15 points just once against Boston in 7 meetings this year, if we count the regular season.

I do not believe Cleveland will win here, but I’m convinced they can keep this game reasonably close. We still don’t know if Mitchell will play, he might just gut it out with the team’s season on the line. I’ll take the massive spread on Cleveland here.