The Boston Celtics are rolling right now, beating the New York Knicks by double digits on Sunday afternoon to further their lead on the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
While Boston still trails the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot in the East, it has looked the part of a team that can repeat as the NBA champions once again this season.
On Tuesday, the C’s hit the road for their fourth and final matchup of the season against Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors, who have dealt with major injury issues all season long, have won just three of their last 10 games.
However, they did upset the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
While the play-in tournament may be out of the question for Toronto, it has been frisky at home, including a game against this Boston team. Toronto upset the C’s – winning by 13 – in their last matchup in Toronto.
The other two meetings between these teams could not have gone differently. Boston needed overtime in the first meeting to win by three, but then it blew out Toronto – in Boston – by 54 points on New Year’s Eve.
What should bettors expect in the final meeting between these teams this season?
First, let’s take a look at the latest odds and then dive into some player prop picks and a game pick for this Eastern Conference battle.
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Spread
Moneyline
Total
I am shocked to see this line so low for Derrick White on Tuesday night, especially since Jrue Holiday is out of the lineup. This could lead to a little more usage for White on the offensive end.
This season, the C’s guard is averaging 16.2 points per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from 3. He’s picked up 14 or more points in nine of his last 11 games, averaging 17.7 points per game over that stretch.
He’s also cleared this prop in two of three games against the Raptors this season.
Since seeing his minutes jump back over 20 in his last six games, Immanuel Quickley has cleared 3.5 rebounds on four occasions, averaging 5.0 boards per game over that stretch.
The Raptors guard should see the floor a ton again on Tuesday, and he has a decent matchup against a Boston team that is just 15th in the NBA in opponent rebounds per game.
Usually, this is a spot where I’d back the Raptors since they’ve been so great as home underdogs (17-9-1 against the spread) this season.
However, Boston is on another level right now.
Since losing to the Dallas Mavericks, the C’s have ripped off five straight wins by 13 or more points, and they already have a blowout win over this Toronto team this season.
Over their last 10 games, the C’s are 9-1 and rank in the top five in the NBA in offensive rating, defensive rating, effective field goal percentage and net rating. Over that same stretch, Toronto is 27th in net rating and 26th in offensive rating.
That simply isn’t going to get it done against the defending champs, even with Jrue Holiday and Al Horford on the injury report tonight.
Toronto has been solid as a home dog, but it also has faltered in that spot since the All-Star break, failing to cover against Miami and Cleveland before picking up an upset win over the Suns.
I’ll lay the points with Boston as it looks to be in the midst of one of its dominant stretches this season.
Pick: Celtics -11 (-110 at DraftKings)
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.
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