Model Predictions
| Model | Cleveland Cavaliers | Boston Celtics | Spread | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margin | 24.6% | 75.4% | +6.2 | ✗ (8.2 off) |
| Pythagorean | 40.8% | 59.2% | - | ✗ |
Actual: Boston Celtics -2 (96-98). Predictions use season-end ratings.
Cleveland Cavaliers
| Player | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | Numbers | RAPM GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Gooden * | 44 | 11-13 | 0-0 | 5-6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 20 | - |
| LeBron James * | 43 | 9-13 | 0-2 | 2-3 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 23 | - |
| Jeff McInnis * | 42 | 6-13 | 1-3 | 2-2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 12 | - |
| Ira Newble * | 36 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | - |
| Zydrunas Ilgauskas * | 31 | 8-15 | 0-0 | 10-11 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 26 | 18 | - |
| DeSagana Diop * | 7 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | - |
| Eric Snow | 15 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - |
| Robert Traylor | 8 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - |
| Dajuan Wagner | 6 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - |
| Scott Williams | 5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -2 | - |
| Lucious Harris | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
Boston Celtics
| Player | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | Numbers | RAPM GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Pierce * | 39 | 7-19 | 2-4 | 9-9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 25 | 10 | - |
| Mark Blount * | 36 | 7-13 | 0-0 | 5-6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 13 | - |
| Ricky Davis * | 32 | 3-10 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 9 | - |
| Gary Payton * | 31 | 6-10 | 0-1 | 2-4 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 19 | - |
| Raef LaFrentz * | 27 | 1-5 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | - |
| Walter McCarty * | 25 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | - |
| Jiri Welsch * | 16 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 4-4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | - |
| Al Jefferson * | 9 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - |
| Tony Allen * | 9 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - |
| Delonte West * | 9 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | - |
| Marcus Banks * | 7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 | - |
* = starter