The Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors meet Monday in NBA action at the Amalie Arena.
The Boston Celtics look for another win after winning three of their last four games. The Boston Celtics are averaging 109.8 points on 47.6 percent shooting and allowing 111 points on 48.4 percent shooting. Jaylen Brown is averaging 27.5 points and 3.2 assists while Jayson Tatum is averaging 24.3 points and 7.8 rebounds. Marcus Smart is the third double-digit scorer and Tristan Thompson is grabbing 8.8 rebounds. The Boston Celtics are shooting 37.4 percent from beyond the arc and 71.4 percent from the free throw line. The Boston Celtics are allowing 35.8 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 42.3 rebounds per game.
The Toronto Raptors need a win here to rebound from a sluggish 1-4 record. The Toronto Raptors are averaging 104.4 points on 41.4 percent shooting and allowing 107 points on 43.2 percent shooting. Fred VanVleet is averaging 19.2 points and five rebounds while Kyle Lowry is averaging 18.8 points and 8.2 assists. Pascal Siakam is the third double-digit scorer and Chris Boucher is grabbing six rebounds. The Toronto Raptors are shooting 33.2 percent from beyond the arc and 82 percent from the free throw line. The Toronto Raptors are allowing 32 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 44 rebounds per game.
The Celtics are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 0 days rest and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games. The Raptors are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 home games and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The over is 7-3 in Celtics last 10 overall. The under is 9-3 in Raptors last 12 overall. The Celtics are 6-0 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Toronto and 6-2 ATS in the last 8 meetings.
The Boston Celtics are on the end of a back to back and needed a last second shot to beat a bad Pistons team. However, we’re getting a free bucket with the better team regardless of the rest advantage. The Toronto Raptors look stuck in the mud through five games and are one of the worst offensive teams in the league, ranked 27th in points, 29th in field goal percentage and 22nd in three point percentage. The Raptors should turn things around eventually, but I see value in the free bucket with the Celtics.