The latest 2018 NBA Playoffs odds have been released for the upcoming 2018 Eastern Conference Finals. In the upcoming series, the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics will now try their luck against the lower-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite being a lower seed, Cleveland showed no issues in sweeping the Toronto Raptors out of the second-round. However, this Celtics team has shown quite a bit of tenacity and under their skilled head coach will try to pull off an improbable series win. Here are the latest Cavs vs Celtics playoff odds as well as the schedule for their upcoming series.

Cavs vs Celtics series odds

This past season, the Celtics and Cavs met three times with Cleveland going 2-1 in those games. That included a blowout by 22 points in Boston this past February. However, it's noteworthy that "Scary" Terry Rozier scored 20 points to lead his team to a 102-88 win in Boston back on January 3. It's also noteworthy that Boston is without the two stars they acquired prior to this season for the purpose of trying to take out LeBron and the Cavs. Gordon Hayward was sidelined as of the first game of the season in Cleveland, while Kyrie Irving has been out since late March due to surgical procedures he had done.

The Boston Celtics made it this far thanks to a first-round win over the Washington Wizards.

They followed that up by handling the Philadelphia 76ers in five games, with several hard-fought close victories, including an overtime game. Now they'll have home-court advantage against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but that team has the advantage of superstar LeBron James.

Some people expected that the young and rising Sixers would take out the Celtics last round, but that wasn't the case.

Despite people viewing Boston as the underdogs, they managed to make a case for themselves as a team full of emerging talents of their own including Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Terry Rozier. These players and others have clearly stepped up in the absence of stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.

However, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be the favorites to win the Eastern Conference Finals.

As ESPN noted in their report, the Cavs opened at -275 to win the series via the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. As of this report, Odds Shark had the Cavs at -290 and the Celtics as +245 underdogs to win the series. The opening line for Game 1 was a "pick 'em," but has since shifted slightly in favor of the visiting Cavs.

Matchup schedule

Game 1 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals will tip off this coming Sunday at 3:30 PM ET in Boston. Game 2 will take place in Boston on Tuesday, May 15 at 8:30 PM ET. The two teams will get a three-day travel break before the series resumes with Game 3 in Cleveland. That game is scheduled for Saturday, May 19 at 8:30 PM ET. Game 4 is also in Cleveland on Monday, May 21 at 8:30 PM ET.

  • Game 1 @Boston SUN 5/13 3:30 p.m. ET
  • Game 2 @Boston TUE 5/15 8:30 p.m. ET
  • Game 3 @Cleveland SAT 5/19 8:30 p.m. ET
  • Game 4 @Cleveland MON 5/21 8:30 p.m. ET
  • Game 5 @Boston WED 5/23 8:30 p.m. ET*
  • Game 6 @Cleveland FRI 5/25 8:30 p.m. ET*
  • Game 7 @Boston SUN 5/27 8:30 p.m. ET*

(*if necessary)

If necessary, the two NBA teams will meet in Game 5 on Wednesday, May 23 with the game starting at 8:30 PM ET in Boston. The series will then shift back to Cleveland for Game 6 on Friday, May 25 at 8:30 PM ET, and if it goes the full seven games, then Game 7 is in Boston. That pivotal game would tip off at 8:30 PMET on Sunday, May 27.

Games will be televised via ABC or ESPN throughout the series, with the winning team heading to the 2018 NBA Finals to face either the Houston Rockets or Golden State Warriors. With the odds in favor of both the Cleveland Cavs and reigning champions, fans may very well see a Cavs vs Warriors matchup for the fourth-straight postseason.
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