NBA: Boston Celtics VS Toronto Raptors Pick and Predictions 01/21/2023

Game: 5:10 PM ET,  Saturday, January 21st, 2023

Venue: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada

TV:  NBA League Pass

Celtics: 34-12, 1st place Eastern Conference

Raptors: 20-26, 11th place Eastern Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Boston -1.5, O/U 225.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Boston  -1.5, O/U 225.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Boston -1, O/U 225.5

Celtics: SF Jayson Tatum, PF Al Horford, C Robert Williams III, SG Jaylen Brown, PG Marcus Smart

Raptors: SF OG Anunoby, PF Scottie Barnes, C Pascal Siakam, PG Fred VanVleet, SG Gary Trent JR

An Eastern Conference battle of the best team and a former contender.  The Boston Celtics feel unbeatable at times.  Sure, they lost last season’s Championship series to the Golden State Warriors. In that series they struggled to score against a tough defense… and last night they struggled to score against the same Warriors team with the same defense and had to get the win in overtime… shocking because the Warriors are doing terribly this season.  A win is a win is a win… and the Celtics keep on winning.  The Toronto Raptors are in an entirely different boat.  Their Championship from 3 seasons ago is fading into the distance… and they don’t seem to have the sails necessary to catch up to it.  They are currently below the line to make the Eastern Conference “play-in” game if the season stopped today.  They aren’t contenders.  Oddly they have a GREAT collection of talent!  Theory should be winning games.. The key problem is of course they do not have a true NBA ready Center… and the bench is loaded with undersized power forwards… who all take a turn at the Center position depending on who the mark is on any given night.  PF Pascal Siakam may be the team’s best power forward but he has spent the better part of two years wasting his skills at the Center position.  2nd year player Scottie Barnes has “future superstar” written all over him… young, athletic, big, supremely skilled, defensive stopper, scorer… That is a lot… and they have been playing him far out of his best position (point guard) in the power forward spot.  So a team with 6 power forwards on the roster has the best young point guard on their roster playing power forward?!!  The Raptors are stuck in the mud if they don’t find their way into some trades that move PF Khem Birch, PF Precious Anchiuwa, and PF Chris Boucher… What do they need in return?... A Real Center… That way Pascal can play PF… Scottie can move to the point guard… Fred VanVleet could be a 2 guard… and Gary Trent could be a sixth man.  And we could all watch them finally win a game or two.  The great betting opportunity here:  How many points on the spread should the Celtics be favored by?

The Boston Celtics have won 8 of their last 10 games and are on a very big 8 game winning streak.  They have gone 5-5 ATS during the last ten games… mostly because the Celtics spread is set pretty high in deference to their record.  We all know they will win most often… but by how much?  My offshore betting account let me bet the moneyline at an almost comical return on my $200. I’m glad I bet the moneyline because the Warriors beat the spread sand almost won the game.  In their last game they beat the Golden State Warriors 121-118… In the win SF Jayson Tatum had 34 points, 19 rebounds, and 6 assists on a very bad shooting night.  He was 9 of 27 from the field… His 12 of 12 from the Charity stripe secured the win. Al Horford had 20 points, Jaylen Brown had 16 points (also a very bad shooting night), and Marcus Smart had 18 points.  The team got 1 point from SG Derrick White who was 0-6 from the field and 0-3 from 3-point.  We all have bad days.  Still a win is a win.

The Toronto Raptors have only won 4 out of their last 10 games.  They also only went 4-6 ATS over their last 10 games.  They are on a 2-game losing streak.  They lost their last game to the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves 128-126… which should have triggered trades since they were favored.  In the loss PF Scottie Barnes got 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists while playing (AGAIN) out of position.  PG Fred VanVleet had 25 points with 10 assists.  That is the crux of the problem in Toronto.  They have to decide between Scottie and Fred.  One of them will be the best bet at Point Guard for the future while the other is the best bet right now.  A choice has to be made.  Either of them, on the way out, could bring a big man and some picks in return. Way more teams would want Scottie than Fred, but Fred should be the guy on the way out… especially since the team discovered him and essentially invested NOTHING in getting him… and benefited from a title already.  

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BOS: 34-12, 25-20-1 ATS, 23-22-1 O/U, 16-7 on the road.

TOR: 20-26, 22-24 ATS, 26-20 ATS, 14-11 in home games.

The Celtics are 2nd in scoring with 118.8 points per game, 6th in rebounds with 44.7 per game, 1st in AST/TO ratio with 2.0, and 4th in blocks with 5.3 per game.

The Raptors are 21st in scoring with 112.5 points per game, 22nd in rebounds with 42.5 per game, 2nd in AST/TO ratio with 1.9, and 8th in blocked shots with 5.2 per game.

Our prediction for Saturday, January 21st is…. Celtics 120 - Raptors 101

Blow Out Alert.  The Celtics will trounce the Raptors after struggling with the Warriors.  It will feel like a light lifting day at the gym.  Tatum and Brown and White all shot badly in the last game.  They won. They will not shoot badly against the Raptors.. They will bounce back with the lack of pressure on Brown, White and Smart. Tatum will have Scottie Barnes in his face all night, but the other three having better shooting nights will open up the court for Tatum too.

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Boston is 4-0 ATS versus the Raptors in Boston the last 3 seasons.
Boston is 13-4 ATS after a home win this season.
Toronto is 2-3 ATS as a home favorite this season.

Celtics: PG Marcus Smart.  Marcus is the unheralded player on the Celtics roster.  I may sing his praises but he deserves everyone singing his praises.  He will play lock-down defense and contribute on the offensive end in the form of assists and cheap baskets.  It’s time everyone accepted this is an NBA all-star.

Raptors:  PF Scottie Barnes.  Watch this kid closely every chance you get.  He is a Scottie Pippen type, Magic Johnson Lite type.  He can do everything across the basketball spectrum well… His team needs to see that and play him at the Point guard spot. Watch and see.

Celtics:  Joe “The first job is the best job” Mazzula

Raptors: Nick “My first year was my best year” Nurse