The Boston Celtics embark on their first road swing of the season as they make their way to the Scotiabank Arena to take on the Toronto Raptors. The Celtics haven’t won in Toronto since April of 2015 and they open as a 3-point underdog in tonight’s matchup. The two teams have had an average combined score of 195.6 over their last five contests and the total opened at 209 for their first meeting this season.
- The total has gone UNDER in five of the Celtics’ last six games vs the Raptors (avg. combined score: 198.5).
- The Raptors are 6-0 SU and ATS in their last six home games vs the Celtics.
- The total has gone UNDER in six of the Celtics’ last eight games.
Celtics vs Raptors Game Center
Toronto looks to remain dominant at home
Last season, the Raptors finished in a tie with the Rockets for the best home record in the NBA with a 34-7 record and Toronto continued its strong play in front of its home fans with a 116-104 win over Cleveland in its season opener. Newly acquired Kawhi Leonard made an impact in his debut with his new club, scoring a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds, and has found instant chemistry with point guard Kyle Lowry.
The Raptors and Celtics split their four-game season series last year with each team winning its two home games. With Toronto’s two home victories, it extended its home winning streak over Boston to six games with an average winning margin of 12.67. Lowry averages 17.2 points per game against the Celtics in his career, his highest average against any team in the NBA.
In the season opener, Toronto shot the lights out en route to the 116-104 victory. The team hit 48.9 percent of its field-goal attempts and was terrific behind the arc, connecting on 42.4 percent of its three-point attempts (14-for-33). However, Boston held Philadelphia to a three-point shooting percentage of just 19.2 in its first game and allowed the 76ers to shoot only 39.1 percent from the floor overall.
Celtics were strong on the road last year
Although Boston was unable to earn a road victory over Toronto last season, it was able to topple many other home squads throughout the year. The Celtics had a 28-13 away record last year, which was the third-best record in the NBA, including winning 10 of their last 15 regular-season road games. In the first match of the season at TD Garden, Boston did a great job securing the boards, outrebounding Philadelphia 64-57, including grabbing 12 offensive rebounds. Point guard Kyrie Irving had a fairly quiet night, though, scoring just seven points while adding seven assists and four boards.
Boston was held to just 169 points over the two games at Scotiabank Arena last year with only power forward Marcus Morris breaking the 20-point threshold in either of the games as he scored 21 in the second meeting. However, the Celtics were without small forward Gordon Hayward for both contests as he was out for the season with a leg injury. The Indiana native has averaged 13.3 points per game over his 13 career appearances vs the Raptors.
Should you be on the UNDER tonight?
Points have been hard to come by with these two defensive squads and Sportsbook has tonight’s total Sportsbook at 209 points. Last year, the Celtics allowed the third-fewest points per game in the NBA and their defense was on point in their season opener, holding the 76ers to just 87 points, including only five three-pointers. The Raptors surrendered the third-fewest points per game in the Eastern Conference last season and they kept the Cavaliers to just seven three-pointers on Wednesday. Lastly, the total has gone UNDER in eight of the last 10 meetings between Boston and Toronto with an average combined score of 197.4, so the UNDER does look like a smart bet.
My take on the Celtics and Raptors
I like the Raptors to cover the 3-point spread in tonight’s game. Toronto is 6-0 SU and ATS in its last six home games against Boston with an average winning margin of 12.67. Meanwhile, the Raptors are 24-6 SU in their last 30 regular-season home games overall with an average winning margin of 12.41 and each of those 24 wins coming by three points or more. Lastly, Toronto averaged the most points per game in the Eastern Conference in 2017-18 while Boston scored the sixth-fewest points per game in the East last year.
