Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors Spread: NBA Odds, Prediction
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Charlie Grant
One of the true measuring-stick games for the Raptors pops up on the schedule Tuesday night at the ACC when the first place Boston Celtics come to town. Kyrie Irving has sat out the last three games but the Celtics are a tough team to be with or without their All-Star point guard.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Toronto took down the Memphis Grizzlies over the weekend 101-86 and improved to 36-16 straight up and 28-24 against the spread on the season. The Raptors are 21-4 SU and 14-11 ATS on their home court and 7-2 ATS in their last nine games against the Celtics. Boston won and covered as a 3.5-point home underdog back in November against the Raptors.
The Celtics took no time recovering from the loss of Gordon Hayward who broke his leg on opening night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston began a 16-game win streak after its third game of the year and covered the spread in 15 of its first 18 contests.
The C’s slowed down in the middle of January but they’ve found their groove again. Brad Stevens’ crew comes into Toronto the winner of four straight and riding a six-game cover streak.
Boston Celtics
Terry Rozier is averaging 19.7 points, 5.7 assists and 8.0 rebounds over the last three games with Irving out of the lineup.
Irving is questionable to return to action on Tuesday because of the same right quad injury that’s kept him out the last week.
Boston’s defense keeps games close even when it is missing a player as talented as Irving. The Celtics own the league’s best defense and allow just 99.9 points per 100 possessions.
Toronto Raptors
The Celtics are a couple games up in the standings and they own the better ATS mark but the Raptors possess a better point differential and net rating than the guys in green.
One of the main reasons the advanced numbers love Toronto this season is because of the off-the-chart production the club is getting from its bench. The Dinos outscored Memphis 52-19 in bench scoring on Saturday night in a game All-Stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan combined to score just 24 points.
