Raptors Without Multiple Players Again Tonight vs. Celtics

The Toronto Raptors will hope for a fresh start to the second half of their season as they’ll be shorthanded again tonight when they take on the Boston Celtics. Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Patrick McCaw, and Malachi Flynn have all been ruled out due to the league’s COVID-19 protocols. Their absences mean the Raptors will have just three double-figure scores remaining with Chris Boucher, Kyle Lowry, and Norman Powell.

Yesterday, Toronto couldn’t overcome playing with a shorter roster as they lost to the Detroit Pistons 129-105. The win was Detroit’s second in eight games and their 10th win overall as the Eastern Conference’s worst team.

On the final day on the NBA calendar before the All-Star break, the Raptors are nine-point road underdogs against the Celtics.

Early sharp money is siding with Boston, who have been bet up after opening as an eight-point favorite. The Celtics will hope to finish the first half of the season on a high note in what has been a tumultuous season thus far. Boston is just 18-17 in this campaign, and they’re currently in third place in the Atlantic Division. They have won their last three contests and scored an average of 115.3 points per game.

Sharp action targets the over in this matchup as the total has been bet up from 217 to 220.5.

You can stay up to date with the current lines by heading over FanDuel Sportsbook for all your NBA action.