For the second straight series, the heavily favored Boston Celtics find themselves in a Game 7, but just like the first round against Atlanta, the C's expect the fact that the do-or-die game is in Boston will be their salvation.
"Nobody wants to be in the position of playing a Game 7. But when you have homecourt in Boston, it makes a big difference," Kendrick Perkins said. His club is an 8-point betting favorite (over/under: 174) on WagerWeb.com.
Boston is 7-0 at home in these playoffs (15-2 all time at home in Game 7s), but its offensive struggles would seem to catch up with the Celtics at some point. In Game 6's 74-69 loss in Cleveland, Boston had only two players score in double figures (Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce), shot only 39.7 percent from the field and scored a season low in points (it was Boston's second worst playoff output ever).
And what has happened to Ray Allen? The former All-Star continued his playoff slump with only 9 points (fellow starting guard Rajon Rondo had a grand total of 2). Allen is shooting 34.5 percent from the field in the first six games of this series and has made just 4 of 22 3-pointers.
"It's very frustrating. I have to shoot the ball - get the ball in my hands and develop a rhythm. It's hard to say what it is, but it is frustrating, because I know I can help," said Allen, who is averaging just 10.2 points in the series.
Boston did make one lineup change in Cleveland, turning to Eddie House as a backup to Rondo instead of Sam Cassell, who didn't play after shooting just 24.2 percent in the first five games. House finished with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting in 18 minutes.Meanwhile, Cleveland's LeBron James had his best offensive outing in this series. He finished with 32 points on 9-of-23 shooting. He also had 12 rebounds.
But the Cavs will again be without Daniel Gibson on Sunday. Gibson, who separated his shoulder in Game 5, was shooting 45 percent on 3-pointers in the playoffs and made two key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of Game 4 to help the Cavs win.
He has not been as effective against the Celtics, averaging 5.6 points on 39 percent shooting, as he was in the first round against the Washington Wizards, when he shot 50 percent from 3-point range and averaged 11.8 points.
"He's been good for us as of late, so to have him go down is tough," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "You just have to find a way. The next guy has got to step up."
Delonte West likely will continue to get the majority of Gibson's minutes, but the Cavs need their other top 3-point threat to step up in Gibson's absence. That would be Wally Szczerbiak, who went 2-for-11 from the field and hit just 1-of-6 from behind the arc in Game 6.
Betting trends: Cavaliers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 playoff games as an underdog. . Celtics are 11-2 ATS in their last 13 home games. . Celtics are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 playoff games as a favorite of 5.0-10.5. . Under is 12-3 in Cavaliers last 15 games as an underdog of 5.0-10.5. . Under is 4-1 in Celtics last 5 games following a ATS loss. . Cavaliers are 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings. . Cavaliers are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Boston.
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