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Charlie Grant
Celtics vs. Raptors Point Spread: NBA Odds, Prediction
It’ll be the final time the two rivals play each other this regular season, and Boston has a chance to win the season series 3-1 with a win on Tuesday.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Boston is hoping to recover from an ugly outright loss to the Chicago Bulls just days after nearly taking down the Milwaukee Bucks. The Celtics are just 2-4 straight up in their last six games and 6.5 games back of the Raptors in the East standings.
The C’s are just 11-17-1 against the spread in their away games this season and 15 of their 23 outright setbacks have come away from home. Boston has been an underdog only 11 times prior this campaign and the club is 5-6 ATS with the dog tag.
The Raptors are coming off a disappointing result of their own. The Drakes fell to the Orlando Magic on Sunday. Toronto failed to reach 100 points for just the eighth time on the season. The Dinos are 13-18 as home chalk and 0-5 against the number in their last five matchups.
The Over is 3-0 in the three previous meetings between these two clubs this season.
Boston Celtics
Boston would be the fifth seed if the playoffs started today, which would be a huge disappointment. The Celtics were picked by many to finish first in the conference after they took LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the East finals a year ago.
Many assumed the younger players would take another step forward in their development and Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward would bring All-Star talent to an already deep roster.
But Hayward’s first season back after his gruesome leg injury has been up and down. Meanwhile, Irving’s play on the court is spectacular, but his leadership off the court has been less than stellar.
Irving went from telling season-ticket holders before the start of the season he planned on re-signing with the C’s to shifting to a “we’ll see this summer” approach. There’s no short of drama in Boston.
Toronto Raptors
It makes sense the Raps are going through a bit of growing pains at this point of the season. The trade to bring in Marc Gasol cost them a few regular rotation players, and there is a feeling-out process underway with Gasol and the rest of his new teammates.
Gasol isn’t the only Toronto newbie. Veteran combo guard Jeremy Lin was picked up off the waiver market after he and the Atlanta Hawks parted ways earlier this month. The Raptors are hoping Lin can settle into the role once occupied by Delon Wright.
Lin brings a little more to the table offensively, but he is nowhere near the defender Wright was for Toronto.
