Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors 8/30/20: NBA Basketball free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
2020-08-30 13:00:00 EDT
The Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors were set to meet Sunday in game one of NBA playoff action at the HP Field House.
The Boston Celtics are coming off a four-game sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Boston Celtics are averaging 112.3 points on 45.2 percent shooting and allowing 100.5 points on 39.6 percent shooting. Jayson Tatum is averaging 27 points and 9.8 rebounds while Kemba Walker is averaging 24.3 points and 3.8 assists. Jaylen Bitemn is the third double-digit scorer and Gordon Hayward is grabbing four rebounds. The Boston Celtics are shooting 35 percent from beyond the arc and 81.5 percent from the free thitem line. The Boston Celtics are allowing 26.4 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 43.3 rebounds per game.
The Toronto Raptors are coming off a four-game sweep of the Brooklyn Nets. The Toronto Raptors are averaging 126.3 points on 49.5 percent shooting and allowing 105.8 points on 39.7 percent shooting. Fred VanVleet is averaging 21.3 points and 7.8 assists while Pascal Siakam is averaging 20.8 points and 4.8 assists. Serge Ibaka is the third double-digit scorer and Norman Powell is grabbing 4.5 rebounds. The Toronto Raptors are shooting 43.3 percent from beyond the arc and 78.7 percent from the free thitem line. The Toronto Raptors are allowing 33.7 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 51 rebounds per game.
The Celtics are 15-5 ATS in their last 20 games as an underdog, 2-5 ATS in their last 7 playoff games as an underdog and 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 Sunday games. The Raptors are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 Sunday games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The under is 5-1 in Celtics last 6 overall. The under is 9-4 in Raptors last 13 overall. The Celtics are 2-8 ATS in the last 10 meetings in Toronto and 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
The couple extra days of rest should benefit the Toronto Raptors greatly, as it gives Lowry extra time to nurse that ankle and make sure he’s good to go. The Toronto Raptors have probably been the most impressive team in the bubble and should be favored to win this series. However, the Celtics have won five of the last seven meetings against the Raptors, which includes a 22-point beatdown a few weeks ago when they were 1.5-point underdogs. This should be a competitive series where every game is a dogfight. I want points in these games. Give me the Celtics.
