BOSTON — The celebrations of the Cleveland Cavaliers' Round 1, Game 7 comeback victory over the Orlando Magic are officially over.
The team has now turned its focus to taking on the No. 1 Boston Celtics in Round 2, the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2024 NBA playoffs.
The Cavaliers come into Round 2 as the underdogs. They will need determination and tenacity to compete against this accomplished Celtics roster.
What follows is everything you need to know about the Cavaliers vs. Celtics Game 1 matchup.
Round 2, Game 1 info, how to watch on TV, betting line:
- Date: Tuesday, May 7, 2024
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
- TV channel: TNT/truTV
- Radio: WTAM/WNZN
- Betting line: Celtics -11/Cavaliers +11
- Over-under point total: 209
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics series schedule:
- Game 1: Cavaliers at Celtics, Tuesday, May 7 (7 ET, TNT)
- Game 2: Cavaliers at Celtics, Thursday, May 9 (7 ET, ESPN)
- Game 3: Celtics at Cavaliers, Saturday, May 11 (8:30 ET, ABC)
- Game 4: Celtics at Cavaliers, Monday, May 13 (7 ET, TNT)
- Game 5: Cavaliers at Celtics, Wednesday, May 15 (TBD, TNT) If necessary
- Game 6: Celtics at Cavaliers, Friday, May 17 (TBD, ESPN) If necessary
- Game 7: Cavaliers at Celtics, Sunday, May 19 (TBD, TBD) If necessary
Game 1 Watch Party
The Cavaliers will host a watch party for Games 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Doors for the Game 1 Watch Party will open at 6 p.m. on Monday, one hour prior to the scheduled 7 p.m. tip-off. General admission tickets for the Watch Party are available for $5 at Cavs.com/Playoffs.
Game 1 Preview
The Celtics come into Round 2 well-rested, having closed out their Round 1 series against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, May 1. On the other hand, the Cavaliers have a quick turnaround, heading to Boston for their first game of the series merely 48 hours after beating the Magic in Game 7 of Round 1.
During the regular season, Boston beat the Cavaliers twice, while Cleveland defeated the Celtics in the team's most recent showdown on March 5. The Wine and Gold came back from a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit, which led to a thrilling 105-104 victory without Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.
The Celtics are carried by NBA All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are averaging 22.8 points and 21.8 points, respectively. However, things could become complicated for the Celtics due to center Kristaps Porzingis' calf injury. According to reports, Porzingis is likely to be sidelined for the Round 2 series due to a calf injury.
The injury could be an advantage to the Cavaliers as they await the return of center Jarrett Allen, who missed the last three games due to a rib injury. Allen's return will eventually be crucial to the Cavaliers in this series, as he averaged 17 points and 13.8 rebounds in games 1-4. However, he has again been ruled out for a fourth straight matchup.
The Cavaliers will need to quickly fix some of the evident problems that were present in Round 1, including getting Mitchell some extra scoring help. Mitchell is a superstar, arguably one of the best to ever play for the Cavaliers, and he proved his dominance in Round 1 where he averaged 28.7 points per game. However, with a Celtics team that has multiple strong defenders, the spotlight will turn to Darius Garland in the backcourt, who averaged 14.9 points in Round 1.
Other players must also step up for the Cavs, including their bench, which struggled during Round 1. Bench players, including Sam Merril, Georges Niang and Isaac Okoro, are all averaging below five points per game in the postseason.
While the Celtics are the clear favorites, this Cavaliers team has played Boston tough over the past two seasons, with the last seven games being decided by fewer than 10 points.
The Cavaliers and Celtics are no strangers to meeting each other in the postseason. This series marks the fourth time in the past 10 years that the teams have met in the postseason, with the Cavaliers winning the last three in 2015, 2017 and 2018, during the LeBron James era.
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