Toronto Raptors vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 3/4/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Toronto Raptors vs Boston Celtics

Date: Thursday, March 4, 2021

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBC Sports Boston

Odds/Point Spread: Toronto (+8)

The Boston Celtics (18-17) host the Toronto Raptors (17-17) at TD Garden on Thursday. The odds on this contest have Boston as 8-point favorites. The over/under opens at 217.

The Toronto Raptors played the Houston Rockets and took home the win by a score of 122-111 in their last game. Toronto walked away from the game with a 44.9% FG percentage (40 of 89) and made 16 of 41 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Raptors converted 26 of their 27 attempts for a percentage of 96.3%. In terms of pulling down boards, they collected 48 with 11 of them being offensive. They also recorded 29 assists in the game in addition to forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and earning 6 steals. When talking about defense, Toronto let their opponent shoot 42.9% from the field on 39 of 91 shooting. Houston distributed 23 assists and had 4 steals for the contest. Additionally, Houston collected 37 rebounds (7 offensive, 30 defensive) and earned 5 blocked shots. Houston finished shooting 85.0% from the free throw line by burying 17 of 20 tries. They also converted 16 of 47 attempts from three-point range.

Norman Powell is one player who was a major contributor in the matchup. He notched 30 points on 10 out of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 32:48 mins and totaled 3 boards. Powell finished the contest at 66.7% from the field and also earned 1 assist. One more player that had an impact in this game for the Raptors was Fred VanVleet. He had 4 rebounds in 38:08 minutes played on the night. He finished the game shooting 26.1% from the field in this contest by going 6-of-23 (25 points). When the final whistle was blown, VanVleet earned 4 assists.

Toronto steps onto the court with a mark of 17-17 this season. The Raptors are hitting 38.3% on shots from 3-point land (524 of 1,367) and 83.2% from the free throw line. They have an average of 112.9 pts per game (15th in the league) while hitting 45.2% from the field. They are giving up possession 13.7 times per contest and as a group are committing 21.9 personal fouls every game. As a team, Toronto is snagging 41.9 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 854 dimes for the year, which ranks 15th in basketball in terms of passing. Defensively, the Raptors are forcing their opponents into 16.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.9 fouls. They are currently ranked 26th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 897 relinquished this season. The Raptors defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 45.2% (556 of 678) and they surrender 44.9 boards per game as a basketball team. They concede 37.2% on 3-pointers and they are 8th in the NBA in points per game allowed (110.4).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Boston Celtics got the win with a final of 117-112 against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Celtics were able to collect 29 defensive boards and 14 offensive rebounds totaling 43 for this game. They gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while recording 6 steals for the contest. The Clippers committed 19 fouls in this game which took the Celtics to the free throw line for a total of 23 attempts. They were able to make 17 of the free throws for a clip of 73.9%. With respect to three-point shots, Boston converted 16 out of their 32 attempts (50.0%). When the final whistle was blown, the Celtics finished the game shooting 42 out of 86 from the floor which gave them a rate of 48.8%. The Celtics permitted the Clippers to knock down 43 of their 87 attempts from the floor which had them at 49.4% in the matchup. They finished 47.4% from three-point range by shooting 18 out of 38 and ended up going 8 of 9 at the free throw line (88.9%). When discussing team rebounding, Boston permitted Los Angeles to collect 35 in total (10 on the offensive glass).

Kemba Walker pitched in for the Celtics in the matchup. He made 8 out of 19 in this matchup giving him a rate of 42.1%, and accumulated 4 rebounds. Walker totaled 25 points in his 33:49 mins on the court and had 6 assists in this contest. An additional guy who came through for Boston was Jaylen Brown. He ended up with 2 assists in 33:54 minutes on the hardwood, and he put in 8 out of 14 from the floor. Brown walked away from this one going 57.1% from the field and also totaling 18 points and 5 rebounds.

Boston has a mark of 18-17 on the campaign. The Celtics are responsible for committing 21.0 personal fouls every game and they hit 76.5% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 22.3 times per game (27th in the league) and they turn it over 14.1 times per contest. Boston has accumulated 3,889 points for the year (111.1 per contest) and they grab 43.9 rebounds per contest. As an offensive unit, the Celtics are shooting 46.4% from the floor, which is 16th in the NBA. The Celtics on the defensive side of the court are 7th in basketball in points per game surrendered with 110.4. The Boston defense surrenders 36.0% on shots from behind the 3-point line (420 of 1,167) and opponents are making 80.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 23.3 dimes and 42.1 total boards per game, which is 5th and 4th in the league. They are forcing 14.3 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.7% from the floor (16th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Toronto (+8)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here