Toronto Raptors vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 12/29/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Toronto Raptors vs Boston Celtics

Date: Friday, December 29, 2023

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics (23-6) will go up against the Toronto Raptors (11-18) at TD Garden on Friday.

The Raptors faced the Jazz and ended up losing by a score of 126-119 in their last contest. Toronto finished the game having earned a 47.9% field goal percentage (45 of 94) and made 13 out of their 32 shots from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, the Raptors converted 16 of their 19 shots for a percentage of 84.2%. In relation to hauling in boards, they collected a total of 39 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 35 assists for the matchup as well as forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When it comes to the defense, Toronto let their opponent shoot 52.7% from the floor on 48 out of 91 shooting. Utah earned 35 assists and had 7 steals for the contest. Additionally, Utah had 41 rebounds (8 offensive, 33 defensive) and added 5 rejections. Utah ended up shooting 92.9% at the free throw line by making 13 of their 14 attempts. They made 17 of their 38 attempts from three-point range. Concerning personal fouls, the Raptors ended up finishing with 17 and the Jazz finished the game with 17 personal fouls.

Scottie Barnes is a guy who was a factor for this contest. Barnes ended up shooting 52.2% from the floor and dished out 7 assists. He saw the court for 38 minutes and collected 14 boards. He left the arena with 32 points on 12 out of 23 shooting.

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Toronto will enter this contest with a win-loss mark of 11-18 so far this season. They are turning it over 14.0 times per game and as a group they are committing 18.2 fouls per game. As a team, Toronto is collecting 44.9 rebounds per game and has 845 assists this year, which has them ranked 3rd in the league in terms of passing. The Raptors are connecting on 33.9% on shots from distance (324 of 956) and 73.8% from the free throw line. They average 112.4 pts per contest (22nd in the league) while hitting 47.1% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Raptors are forcing 13.6 turnovers per game while drawing 18.6 personal fouls. They give up 38.2% from beyond the arc and they are 18th in basketball in PPG allowed (114.8). The Raptors are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 48.3% (1,259 of 2,607) and they concede 43.3 rebounds per game as a group. They rank 20th in the league in giving up assists with 794 surrendered for the year.

For their last game, the Celtics went home victorious with a score of 126-115 against the Lakers. The Celtics snagged 33 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards for a total of 44 for this contest. They also gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while earning 8 steals in the game. The Lakers were called for 19 fouls in this contest which got the Celtics to the free throw line for a total of 28 tries. They were able to make 21 of those for a rate of 75.0%. In the matter of shooting from downtown, Boston made 13 of their 42 attempts (31.0%). When the game finished, the Celtics ended up going 46 out of 91 from the floor which had them sitting at 50.5%. The Celtics allowed the Lakers to knock down 43 of 90 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 47.8% for this contest. They shot 40.6% from beyond the perimeter by going 13 out of 32 and ended up going 16 of 21 at the free throw line (76.2%). In the matter of cleaning the glass, Boston permitted Los Angeles to pull down 43 overall (13 on the offensive side).

Kristaps Porzingis ended up being a factor for the Celtics in this matchup. Porzingis had 28 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood and tallied 2 dimes for the contest. He knocked down 11 out of 19 for this game for a field goal rate of 57.9%, and earned 11 rebounds.

Boston has a record of 23-6 for the year. When it comes to offense, the Celtics are hitting on 48.0% from the floor, which has them ranked 10th in basketball. Boston has totaled 3,482 pts this season (120.1 per game) and they average 47.0 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 25.7 times per contest (20th in basketball) and they cough up possession 13.1 times per game. The Celtics have committed 17.6 fouls per contest and they go 80.3% from the charity stripe.

The Boston defense concedes 37.1% from downtown (404 of 1,089) and opponents are making 73.6% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 24.0 dimes and 42.9 boards per contest, which is 3rd and 10th in the league. The Celtics on the defensive end are ranked 3rd in basketball in points given up per game with 109.9. They are forcing their opponents into 12.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 44.8% from the field (4th in basketball).

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Boston and under the total points

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