Tip-off: Thursday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Cleveland -6.5, Total: 215

LeBron returns after a taking a game off for rest to host one of the Cavalier’s strongest opponents in the East.

The Celtics won their second straight game on Tuesday night with a 113-103 home victory over the Memphis Grizzlies (BOS -7.5). The win improved their record to 19-13 on the year (18-13-1 ATS), which puts them at second place in the Atlantic Division and third in the Eastern Conference, only one game ahead of fourth-place Charlotte and three games ahead of eighth-place Milwaukee. The win over Memphis completed their sweep of the Grizzlies this season, as they also won 112-109 in overtime in Memphis on Dec. 20 (BOS -2). Prior to Tuesday’s game, their previous victory came early on Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden, where they beat the Knicks 119-114 (BOS -2) to put distance between them and their Atlantic Division rival. Now the Celtics take to the road again for a matchup with the 23-7 Cavaliers (15-14-1 ATS), who are 16-2 at home this year and hold a 1.5-game lead for first place in the East. Cleveland saw a five-game losing streak snapped on the road on Monday against the Pistons with a 106-90 defeat (DET -5.5) in a game in which SF LeBron James sat for rest. The Cavs are 0-3 without James this season and 4-18 without him since he signed with the team in the summer of 2014. The loss to Detroit came on what will likely go down as Cleveland’s—or perhaps anyone’s—biggest win of the regular season, a 109-108 win over the Warriors (CLE +3.5) on Christmas in a rematch of the last two NBA Finals. Over the last five seasons, teams averaging at least 102.0 points per game that have scored at least 55 points in the first half of two straight games (BOS) are 184-126 Under against the total against teams allowing at least 102.0 points per game. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the Celtics are 19-4 ATS in road games when revenging a road loss (they lost at Cleveland 128-122 [BOS +10.5] on Nov. 3). James will play in Thursday’s game, while PG Kyrie Irving is listed as probable with an illness.

Scoring 113.9 points per 100 possessions, the Cavaliers rank fourth in the NBA in offensive efficiency. They’re 12th with a defensive efficiency rating of 106.5 points allowed per 100 possessions. They are in the dead middle of the league in terms of pace, averaging 96.4 possessions per 48 minutes. Somewhat humorously, their aforementioned lack of success without James (25.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 8.6 APG, 1.4 SPG) perhaps strengthens the star’s MVP argument this season. He is ninth in the league in scoring, fifth in assists and, among small forwards, third in rebounding. He had a season-high 13 rebounds to go along with 31 points against the Warriors, a game in which he played 40 minutes. He is playing 36.9 minutes per game, which is not significantly more than he has played in the past but is the highest MPG number he’s had in Cleveland so far. With starting SG J.R. Smith (8.6 PPG, career-low 33.7 FG%) out indefinitely, it’s worth watching to see if that number creeps up. Irving (23.6 PPG, 5.8 APG, 1.0 SPG) is playing with the appropriate confidence of someone who hit the game-winning shot in the NBA Finals, and he took down Golden State again with a game-winner on Christmas. He was all over the court in that one, scoring 25, handing out 10 assists and stealing the ball a season-high seven times. PF Kevin Love (21.7 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 1.0 SPG) seems to have finally found his ideal role in this offense, and he could be returning to the All-Star Game this season. PF Channing Frye (10.0 PPG, 45.5 3P%) comes off the bench to lead all non-Big Three Cavs in scoring.

Despite entering the season known more for their collective defensive prowess, the Celtics are eighth in the league with an offensive efficiency rating of 109.5 points scored per 100 possessions and 16th in the league with a defensive efficiency rating of 107.4 points allowed per 48 possessions. They play the 17th-fastest pace in the NBA with an average of 95.9 possessions per 48 minutes. The team is led in scoring by pint-sized PG Isaiah Thomas (26.8 PPG, 6.2 APG), who has stepped his offensive game up to another level entirely. He is seventh in the NBA in scoring, and his numbers are up from his previous career high of 22.2 PPG last year, when he finished 11th in the league in scoring. He has also been incredibly clutch, averaging 8.8 points per fourth quarter (2nd in NBA). He had a career-high 44 points in the Celtics’ first game against the Grizzlies this season, 36 of which came after halftime. Another Celtic who has taken great strides this season is SG Avery Bradley (17.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.25 SPG), who has evolved from a 3-and-D guy to an all-purpose scorer and one of the best rebounding guards in the league. He remains one of the league’s perimeter defenders and is shooting 41.3% from deep. C Al Horford (15.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 5.0 APG, 2.1 BPG) has done all the little things the team hoped he would. To accommodate Horford and the emergence of Bradley, SF Jae Crowder (13.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.0 SPG) is shooting less often, but is putting up career-high percentages of 48% from the floor and 40.8% from three.