The busy Wednesday night NBA schedule showcases 10 games, among them an Eastern Conference battle between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics at TD Garden.
The Cavs bounced back from an opening night loss to win three straight games. Meanwhile, the Celtics are coming off their first victory of the season, blowing out the Pelicans on Monday, 122-90.
Let’s look at the Cavaliers vs. Celtics prediction and picks for Wednesday night’s showdown in Boston which tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Cavaliers vs. Celtics Prediction, Preview for 10/29/25
The Cavaliers finished last season with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 64-18, but were bounced by the Pacers in the second round of the playoffs.
Cleveland rebounded from its 119-111 loss at New York in the season opener to beat Brooklyn, Milwaukee, and Detroit. In Monday’s 116-95 road rout of the Pistons, the Cavs limited Detroit to 41 first half points and 38% shooting from the floor.
The Celtics are dealing with life without F Jayson Tatum, who is sidelined with an Achilles injury suffered in the playoffs last season.
Boston lost its first three games of the season, including road defeats to New York and Detroit. The C's blew out the winless Pelicans by 32 points on Monday, highlighted by 25 points off the bench from SG Anfernee Simons.
The Cavaliers are without two key players from the backcourt for the foreseeable future. PG Darius Garland is sidelined with a toe injury, while SG Max Strus is out with a foot injury.
Besides Tatum out, the Celtics don’t have any other significant injuries. SG Jaylen Brown is listed as probable with a lingering hamstring injury suffered in the preseason. Brown has played in all four games and is averaging 29.7 points per game.
Cleveland Cavaliers
- The Cavaliers posted their top defensive rating of the season in Monday’s rout of Detroit at 89.6. Cleveland compiled an average defensive rating of 114.0 in the first three games.
- In their lone loss at New York, the Cavs attempted 46 shots from 3-point range. During this three-game winning streak, Cleveland has averaged 39 tries a game from deep.
- The Cavs have made their way to the free throw line exactly 35 times in each of the last three games. Boston is allowing opponents to shoot 29.8 free throws a game, ranking 21st in the league.
Boston Celtics
- The Celtics are coming off their best rebounding game of the season, pulling down 54 boards against New Orleans. In their first three games, the C’s averaged 39.0 rebounds a contest.
- Boston is hoisting 46.2 attempts per game from 3-point range, yet rank 25th in 3-point percentage at 31.9%.
- Head coach Joe Mazzulla’s team has been excellent at defending the 3-pointer, sitting fifth in the NBA by allowing 32.7% shooting.
Cavaliers vs. Celtics Picks & NBA DFS
Here are three players who merit consideration for potential PrizePicks goodness.
Cavaliers SG Donovan Mitchell vs. Celtics Projection: 30.5 Points
- Mitchell is averaging 31.3 points per game through four games. He has never averaged more than 28.3 points per game in a season in his career.
- He posted his second 35-point effort of the season in Monday’s demolition of the Pistons. Mitchell shot a season-best 13-of-18 from the floor, his second game of at least 66% shooting.
- In four matchups last season, Mitchell dominated the Celtics with a scoring average of 35.5 ppg. In each game, he scored at least 31 points.
- Spida faces a Celtics’ team that leads the NBA in opponent field goal percentage at 39.9%.
Celtics G/F Jaylen Brown vs. Cavaliers Projection: 30.5 Pts+Rebs
- Brown is carrying the load with Tatum sidelined; the former Cal star leads Boston in scoring at 26.0 ppg.
- His top performance this season came in a 119-113 loss at Detroit on Sunday, when he posted 41 points and 6 boards.
- The multi-tooled combo wing has eclipsed this projection in two of four games this season. He was held to 15 points and 7 rebounds in Monday’s victory at New Orleans.
- Against Cleveland last season, Brown racked up 23.3 ppg and 5.7 rebounds per game in three matchups.
Celtics PG Derrick White vs. Cavaliers Projection: 19.5 Points
- White exploded in the season opening loss to Philadelphia, scoring 25 points. In the last three games, he has averaged 13.6 ppg.
- The former Spurs guard has struggled from the floor this season, hitting 32.9% of his field goal attempts and 25% from 3-point range.
- In the first two games of the season, White’s usage rate sat 27.5%. In the last two games, his usage has slipped to 20.2%.
- Last season against Cleveland, the Colorado native's usage rate sat at a meager 15.3% in three meetings.
- In 11 of the last 16 home games, White has been held to fewer than 19 points.
Make Picks on NBA on PrizePicks
The Cavaliers look to stay on fire with a trip to Boston tonight. Can the Celtics pick up their second straight victory?
There’s never been a better time to add to the excitement of every NBA moment than with PrizePicks.
There is a wide variety of player stat projections on the NBA board, so you can build your Lineup however you’d like — with no salary or positional restrictions. Just pick at least two player stat projections to build your Lineup on PrizePicks.
Check out the Playbook throughout the remainder of the NBA season for more analysis for your PrizePicks and NBA DFS Lineups.
