Eastern Conference Finals Game 1- Boston Celtics vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Finally, we got the matchup for the Eastern Conference finals. After exhausting and long series against the Wizards, Boston advanced, and they will now have even a tougher challenge against the reigning champions Cleveland Cavaliers

After 7 games and almost 2 weeks of battling with Washington, Brad Stevens and the boys got the opportunity to compete with one of the most dominant teams in the last 10 years.

On the other hand, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and the rest of the superteam from Cleveland see this series, as just one step towards the finals and the inevitable clash with the Golden State Warriors.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics had a much tougher road to the finals than Cleveland Cavaliers. At first, they were meeting with Chicago Bulls, and series did not open well for them. The tragic death of Isaiah Thomas' sister and the first two defeats at TD Garden, really looked like something that is going to distract the Celtics. But they found the strength to overcome those problems and made 4 consecutive victories, and advanced to the next round. But we have to mention one thing if it weren't for Rajon Rondo's injury, we are not so sure what would happen after Game 2.

In the next stage, they encountered with the Washington Wizards, where we saw only victories by the home teams, and this is something that reveals Celtics other weakness. Road games. Despite the fact that they defeated Chicago 2 times at their United Center, there is a noticeable difference of display away from TD Garden. And when we say difference, we mean negative difference.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland became the first team in history which opened two playoff seasons with 8-0 records. We have to say that the two sweepings that the Cavaliers performed were quite convincing and that they look pretty unstoppable at the moment. LeBron James dominated when it was needed, and also, we saw the tremendous potential of Cleveland's offensive game. Apart from Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love who are supposed to be the first attacking options along with James, Kyle Korver, J R Smith, Deron Williams and all other guys are just waiting for their chance to shine. It seems that they had more problems with Indiana Pacers in the first round than against Toronto Raptors in the second. This only proves that as the season goes by the Cavaliers are going to be much better and that they are raising their form.

Celtics Starting Five

-Isaiah Thomas

-Avery Bradley

-Jae Crowder

-Amir Johnson

-Al Horford

Cavaliers Starting Five

-Kyle Irving

-J.R. Smith

-LeBron James

-Kevin Love

-Tristan Thompson

Prediction

The Boston Celtics have the home court advantage, and that is the only advantage in this series. But we have to remind you that Cleveland Cavaliers didn't care about that in the past too much. For example, take a look at the last game when they were dominating in the TD Garden and won with some 20 points margin. The handicap on the Cavaliers is -4, and we think that they are going to win with a bigger difference. Under/Over limit is 219.5 points, and we believe that this game will go Under. The Cavs were playing relaxing basketball against the Raptors, but in this matchup with think that they are going to be much tougher on the defensive part of the floor.

Final Outcome: Cavs win with handicap -4

Over/Under: Under 219.5