The Boston Celtics battle a red-hot Raptors squad on April 5 at the TD Garden with a chance to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference following a loss to the 76ers in Philadelphia last night. Toronto has clinched an NBA Play-in game themselves after sweeping the Hornets in Charlotte their last two games.
Boston fought until the very last second against the Sixers on April 4 without Jaylen Brown, getting 26 points from Derrick White in his absence. Their record against Milwaukee and Philadelphia dropped to 5-2, but the Cs showed that even as underdogs, there will be fight.
Toronto, meanwhile, has won five of its last six games, even without top-three Raptors scorer in 2022-23, Gary Trent Jr., since March 19. They’ll take on the Celtics in two of both teams’ final three games.
Toronto Raptors: 10th (ORtg), 11th (DRtg), 25th (Pace), 11th (NRtg)
Boston Celtics: 2nd (ORtg), 4th (DRtg), 17th (Pace), 1st (NRtg)
Boston Celtics Projected Starting Lineup
PG – Marcus Smart, SG – Derrick White, SF – Jaylen Brown, PF – Jayson Tatum, C – Al Horford
Toronto Raptors Projected Starting Lineup
PG – Fred VanVleet, SG – Scottie Barnes, SF – OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, C – Jakob Poeltl
Boston Celtics vs Toronto Raptors Injury Report
Celtics SG Jaylen Brown (lower back pain) – Questionable
Celtics PG Payton Pritchard (heel) – Questionable
Celtics C Robert Williams III (hamstring) – Questionable
Raptors SG Gary Trent Jr. (back) – Questionable
Boston Celtics vs Toronto Raptors Prediction
As a slight underdog against Philadelphia, the Celtics were able to fight to the finish line — coming up short due to an MVP caliber performance from Joel Embiid on the road. Against the Raptors as a favorite on their home floor, Boston can clinch homecourt until the conference finals.
The Houdini believes in these Cs to get it done. Lay those points.
Celtics 131 Raptors 125