Getty Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart and Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard
The featured NBA games on Wednesday night offer two star-studded matchups, with the early one between the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics. These two teams are (somewhat) close in the Eastern Conference standings, although Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors have a clear edge at this moment. On the opposite side, the Celtics are in the midst of attempting to sort out a few issues and get the ship heading in the right direction.
Currently, the Raptors hold the top spot in the East with a 33-12 record while the Celtics are seven games back at 25-18. A win at home over Toronto for Brad Stevens’ squad would be a big step in the right direction. Boston has dropped three consecutive games ahead of Wednesday’s matchup while their opponent is riding a five-game winning streak.
We’re going to take a look at the latest odds and betting line on this game while also offering up a prediction. Let’s kick things off by evaluating how the line has moved throughout the day.
Raptors vs. Celtics Odds, Betting Line & Over/Under
*Note: All current odds and betting lines from Bovada and opening numbers provided by Odds Shark
| Current | Opening | |
| Betting Line/Odds | Boston Celtics (-2.5 at -110) | Celtics -1 (-109) |
| Projected Total | Over/Under 224 (-105) | Over/Under 222 (-105) |
It’s apparent that oddsmakers believe there’ll be a decent number of points in this game while the betting action has gone in favor of the Celtics. With that said, as Odds Shark shows, the public picks have seemingly fallen on the Raptors, who are getting 53 percent of the love. The over is being picked heavily as well, with 62 percent of people projecting a high-scoring game.
The Celtics boast a strong 14-6 record against the spread when playing on their home floor this season while the Raptors are 10-12 ATS on the road. To be even more specific, Boston has reeled off a 4-0 stretch of covering at home over their previous 10 games, but just a 1-5 record against the spread on the road.
Raptors vs. Celtics Prediction
I’m buying into the hype of this being a high-scoring game, and although the last meeting went to overtime, it finished in a Celtics 123-116 victory. Kyrie Irving loves nationally-televised games and we know Leonard will put on a show in the spotlight (although, he probably doesn’t care about being on TV).
We can’t look back much at the history between these two teams beyond this year, as the Raptors roster is obviously different after the Leonard trade. But they’ve split the season series thus far with one win apiece. Although the Raptors are getting the bulk of the love, I see this being a good spot for Boston and one most people may ignore.
The Celtics have one of the best coaches in the NBA and while they’ve lost three-straight games, that came over a five-day stretch and were all on the road. Boston had Tuesday off, Irving sat out last game and they should be set to make some noise in this game. I’m taking the Celtics and the over.
Prediction & Pick: Celtics -2.5 and Over 224
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