The Toronto Raptors host the Boston Celtics as massive home underdogs on Tuesday.
The pregame narrative: Toronto has played Boston surprisingly tough this year and I like it to cover a hefty alternate spread at home. Prop bets on RJ Barrett and Jaylen Brown round out this +295 wager.
Check out my Celtics vs. Raptors same-game parlay predictions for Jan. 25.
Celtics vs. Raptors predictions
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Parlay: Raptors +15.5 | Barrett 2+ threes | Brown 20+ points (+295)
Raptors +15.5 (-220): These teams couldn’t have more different goals. Boston is gearing up for a championship defence while Toronto is looking for a high draft pick. Still, this is a great number to back the Raptors at.
- Toronto is 1-2 against Boston this season (2-1 vs. a +15.5 spread), winning the most recent matchup outright, 110-97.
- The Raptors are 17-9-1 ATS as a home underdog this season, losing by an average of just 3.4 points.
Boston is on a rampage right now, winning five straight games and nine of its last 10. But it has still only covered a -15.5 spread in five of those games
Also, the Celtics will be without Jrue Holiday while the Raptors have a relatively clean bill of health, with only Jakob Poeltl listed as questionable (hip).
SGP legs
Barrett 2+ threes (-120): Barrett has hit at least one 3-pointer in 13 straight games and has cleared this line in eight of his last 11 outings.
He also has some stark home/road splits I want to tap into:
- Home: 2.1 threes per game on 5.3 attempts (39.3%)
- Road: 1.7 threes per game on 5.2 attempts (32.7%)
Boston is a solid defensive team, especially on the perimeter, holding opponents to the fourth-lowest 3-point percentage in basketball. But Barrett gets his shots up and has been reliable against this number lately.
I like his chances of having a solid game.
Brown 20+ points (-175): Brown is well-positioned to lead the Celtics in scoring tonight.
The swingman is averaging 22.9 PPG and has reached this mark in eight of his last 10 games. He’s also scored 20-plus in seven of his last 10 meetings against the Raptors.
Toronto’s biggest weakness on defence is the midrange (20th in opponent FG%) and the rim (19th), according to Cleaning the Glass.
Brown takes 39% of his shots from the midrange and 31% of his shots at the rim, which rank in the 92nd and 61st percentile, respectively, among all NBA players.
Picks made at 9:35 a.m. ET 02/25/2025.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.