Fade Jayson Tatum, but trust the Celtics

NBA Christmas is almost here, but until then we’re trying to get a better sense of the NBA’s standings with some players in health and safety protocols here at BetSided.

Tonight, I’m focusing on the Boston Celtics-Cleveland Cavaliers game for two of my favorite bets, and I also have another prop for Paul George in the Los Angeles Clippers-Sacramento Kings game.

Let’s dive into the options!

All odds courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics: Celtics -5.5 (-110)

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without several key players Wednesday night as Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Isaac Okoro and others are absent due to league health and safety regulations.

Cleveland will face the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, but Boston is without Josh Richardson, Al Horford and several others due to league protocols as well.

So how should we bet this matchup between two short-handed teams?

The Cavaliers are the strongest team in the NBA this season (24-5-2), but this is their first game without all three of Alen, Mobley and Okoro on the roster.

That’s going to put a lot of pressure on Lauri Markkanen and Darius Garland on Wednesday, and I think this is Boston’s game to lose with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both healthy.

The Celtics lost to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, but this defense will give the short-armed Cavs some trouble, as the Celtics are 12th in the NBA in defensive ratings.

Cleveland is garnering respect from odds researchers as it has scored against the spread this year, but this is a far cry from the Cavs team we’ve ever seen.

Paul George OVER 7 Rebounds (-105)

Paul George and Los Angeles Clippers will face Sacramento Kings Wednesday night and it could be a tough game for the Kings with some players following health and safety protocols.

PG was about to suffer an elbow injury, but he came back against the San Antonio Spurs to score 25 points in their final game. However, I am looking at George’s resilience in this match.

The Kings are 25th in the NBA in bounce rate, and they’ve allowed opponents to take 46.7 bounces per game this season. George is averaging 7.2 goals per game this season, but I think we can buy this prop low as his recovery count has dropped since the start of the season.

Jayson Tatum BELOW 28.5 points (-115)

Jayson Tatum has not been able to shoot the ball well this season, currently scoring 42.2% while shooting from long distance 32.8%.

Tatum’s numbers appear to be growing as the Cavaliers have some players absent, but Cleveland also plays at a pace below 10 and can try to pull this off as it is short handed.

Tatum has surpassed this number just once in his last five games after a tense spell earlier this month, and he has scored 21 and 23 points in his first two games against the Cavs this season.

Dennis Schröder has returned to eliminate Tatum (joke, but not entirely), and Tatum has averaged just 25.9 points per game this season. Give me the one below.