The set-up: The Celtics haven't lost at home this postseason, so to say it was shocking that Boston won Games 1 and 2 at home would not be fair. However, it was fair to say that tha manoer in whcih the Celtics won those first two games, was. Cleveland dropped the first two games by an average of 19.0 PPG and even a monster Game 2 effort by LeBron James (42 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists) in Game 2 couldn't prevent a 13-point loss. However, the Cavaliers have recovered to even the Eastern Conference Finals at two games apiece with back-to-back wins at home. Cleveland steamrolled Boston 116-86 in Game 3 and follwoed with convincing 111-102 win in Game 4. LBJ was 17-of-28 shooting in Game 4 as he topped 40 points (44) for the second time in a three-game span. Veteran swingman Kyle Korver (14 points, three blocked shots) is 13-of-20 shooting with eight three-pointers over the past three games, while center Tristan Thompson (13 points & 12 rebounds) enjoyed his best showing of the series and third double-double of the postseason. Boston head coach Brad Stevens didn't get too wound up over Monday's 111-102 setback as he simplified the task staring at his team. "It's a best two of three to go to the NBA Finals. It doesn't get much better than that," Stevens said in Monday's postgame press conference. "In this deal, it's a blast to have to grit your teeth, get up off the mat and go after it again. That's part of what makes these guys on both sides special."

Cleveland: There is always LeBron when we are talking about the Cavs but Korver's been terrific coming off the bench the last three games (see above), plus starting guards Hill and JR Smith stepped up at home. Can they do so on the road? A worry may be PF Kevin Love, who averaged just 11 points on 7-of-24 shooting in the two victories, after averaging 19.5 points in the two losses in Boston. He is shooting just 37.5 percent in the series.

Boston: The Celtics won their two home games by average of 19 points but lost by an average of 19.5 points in their two road games. That's the story of Boston's 2018 postseason, going 9-0 at home but 1-6 on the road. "We missed a bunch of easy opportunities," shooting guard Jaylen Brown said of the Game 4 loss. "We made some bad turnovers and things like that. But we still had opportunities to get into the game and to win." Brown is averaging 20.3 points in the series and his 25-point effort in Game 4 was his third 20-point outing in the East finals.

The pick: Neither team is completely healthy. Both Kevin Love and Jeff Green are playing with minor injuries for the Cavs, while the Celtics have been without Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Daniel Theis for the entire postseason, plus are also without backup point guard Shane Larkin. I guess the question is, "Did the Cavs figure things out while winning Games 3 and 4?" Cleveland did three games at Boston by an average of 30 points in last season's conference finals and were also 9-3 at TD Garden the last four regular seasons. However, this year's Cleveland team has often been burned by its poor defense and Boston's 9-0 home playoff record is hard to ignore. I'll make the Over a 10* play.