NBA Spreads: Toronto Raptors at Boston Celtics
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
The Boston Celtics will look to continue their dominance over the Toronto Raptors when the two teams face off at Boston tonight. The Celtics have won 14 of their last 16 games against the Raptors, including a 93-79 win at Toronto on Sunday. This will already be the fourth time these two teams have faced each other this season, Boston leads the season series 2-1. The Celtics come in off an impressive 105-103 win over the San Antonio Spurs, their third straight win after losing two straight at the end of December. The Raptors won 120-105 at Cleveland on Wednesday, but that is just their second win in their last eight games. Taking a look at the NBA spreads for tonight’s games, oddsmakers have the Celtics favored by 9.5-points over the Raptors at home.
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Andrea Bargnani has really played well in his last two games after returning from injury. Bargnani scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Raptors win over the Cavaliers, just one night after he had 23 points and six boards against the Bulls. Bargnani has struggled against the Celtics, but with Boston without Kevin Garnett, he could be in for a big game tonight.
Jose Calderon had 20 points and 17 assists against Cleveland, and Leandro Barbosa came off the bench to score 22 points. Toronto shot nearly 57% from the field, but will likely have to work much harder for their points against the Celtics.
The return of Rajon Rondo has really lifted the Celtics, and made it much easier to do with the loss of Garnett, who is likely out for at least another week. Rondo was unbelievable against the Spurs on Wednesday, scoring 12 points, dishing out 22 assists, and grabbing 10 rebounds for his second triple-double of the season.
Ray Allen added 31 points on 13 of 16 shooting, Glen Davis scored 23 points in place of Garnett in the starting lineup, and Paul Pierce added 18 points and seven rebounds. Boston shot 61% from the field, but only managed to win the game by two points, that just goes to show you how good the SPurs are.
You have to be impressed with the way Davis has been playing in place of Garnett. Davis is averaging 18 points over his last three games, and as long as he continues to play at that level, the Celtics are going to continue to win game after game.
While I think the Celtics will win this game, I actually think your money needs to be on Toronto. The Celtics are coming off that big win against the Spurs, and likely won’t come in with that same intensity against a Toronto team they just beat by 14 points.
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