NBA Betting Picks – Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors February 26
The Toronto Raptors have been through this before. They put together a strong regular season winning 50 or so games, they look like a contender to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in history, then they flame out in the postseason.
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The acquisition of Kawhi Leonard is the missing piece that’s supposed to get the Raps over the hump. We won’t know for sure for another few months. Things have gone smoothly so far in Leonard’s first season north of the border with the Raps on the heels of Milwaukee for the top seed in the East. The Boston Celtics will attempt to end a two-game losing streak when they visit Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.
Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors
Date and Time: Tuesday, February 26, 2019, 8 p.m. ET
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Opening NBA Odds: Raptors -3.5, O/U 226
Celtics at Raptors TV Coverage: TNT
Odds Analysis
The Celtics are still trying to find their identity, and apparently it’s in a good hiding spot. The preseason favorite to win the East might end up doing so, but the journey there has been chaotic. Despite losing two straight games and four of their last six, the Celtics are in no danger of missing the postseason. But they had their sights set on a higher seed than the current No. 5 they hold now.
It looked like the Cs had things figured out winning 10 of 11 games until the LA teams visited the Garden about two weeks ago. Blowing big leads in losses to the Lakers and Clippers was deflating, but the Cs responded with a nice road win in Philly and beat Detroit to enter the break on a two-game run. A loss to Milwaukee on a last-second shot was painful, but not as painful as the 126-116 defeat against the lowly Bulls. We’ve seen the Cs respond positively all season, but damn this kind of play has to stop for them to be taken seriously.
Toronto had its seven-game winning streak snapped by Orlando on Sunday and looks to regroup on Tuesday. The Raps played without Kawhi Leonard as the team continues to manage his workload and they were overcome by the hot-shooting Magic. The Raptors haven’t lost consecutive games in a month and their longest skid of the season is three games. That’s boosted them to the second-best record in the NBA at 44-17.
Celtics
Marcus Smart called the loss in Chicago “embarrassing.” Coach Brad Stevens shouldered the responsibility of the 10-point loss by saying, “I’m disappointed in myself.” The only way to get over a defeat like that is to win the next time out, and the Celtics have a tough chore ahead of them. They do have Kyrie Irving, who was the only Boston player to put up a fight against the Bulls. Irving went for 37 points and 10 assists.
The Celtics are usually a strong road team but this season has been different. Those defeats in Milwaukee and Chicago dropped them to 14-15 away from the Garden and it’s a big reason why the Cs are 8.5 games behind Milwaukee in the East. Boston won two of the three meetings so far with the Raps, but those wins came at home. Their first visit to Canada resulted in their seventh straight loss, 113-101, during the first week of the season.
Raptors
Without Kawhi on Sunday, the Raptors let one get away to the Magic ending their seven-game winning streak. Playing without the former defensive player of the year is nothing new for the Raps, who are managing his workload in order to keep him ripe for the playoffs. Leonard will play on Tuesday and he’s enjoyed facing the Celtics this season. He’s topped the 30-point mark in all three games and is averaging 31.7 points with nearly 10 boards a contest.
The process of getting Marc Gasol acclimated to his new surroundings came full circle on Sunday when the former Griz started for the first time since being acquired. His nearly 24 minutes were the most as a Raptor and he dropped 16 points with five rebounds and five assists. The plan all along was to slide Gasol into the starting lineup with Serge Ibaka coming off the bench, a move that only makes the Raptors bench stronger.
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We’re going to get a better effort from the Celtics after their 10-point setback in Chicago, and Kyrie will lead the way. We can also expect the Raptors to perform at a higher level after their loss to Orlando. Toronto has killed it at home and the Cs are a struggling road team, which has me leaning to the Raptors. This should be a close contest, but I like the Raps, especially with Kawhi back on the floor.
NBA Score Prediction: Raptors 114, Celtics 109
