Toronto at Boston, Celtics -8, total 183

This will be fun tonight. A true test of just how far the Raps have come over last season. Sure it is way to early in the season to put much stock in the game but a win over the Celtics is a win over the Celtics. Will there be any gas left in Chris Bosh’s tank after he had to rescue the team and carry them on his shoulders yesterday? Hopefully the defensive intensity that was shown in the fourth quarter shows up much earlier tonight. Boston will be manning up during the National Anthem so you know they will bring the noise. I am not expecting a win but I do want to see hard effort for 48 minutes and not seeing the team wait around for Bosh to do it all.

Here is everything you need to know about tonight’s game.

The goods

  • Boston’s hallmark last season was a defense that held opponents to 90.3 points per game. The Celtics led the league in field-goal percentage defense (.419) and 3-point percentage defense (.316).
  • The Celtics are allowing just 86.7 ppg through their first seven games, a number that’s sparked by a field-goal percentage defense (.375) that’s far and away the best in the league.
  • Boston limited Detroit to just 34.7 percent from the field and used a 30-10 second quarter to coast to an 88-76 win over the Pistons.
  • Chris Bosh is third in the league in scoring, averaging 26.7 points - 10.5 more than any other Raptor.
  • Jose Calderon has done a better job than anyone in the Eastern Conference of getting his teammates the ball in position to score. He’s averaging a conference-high 9.3 assists and has a 5.6 assist-to-turnover ratio after leading the league in that category (5.38) last season.
  • Toronto was tops in the East in 3-point percentage (.392) last season, and is hitting 44.7 percent from beyond the arc so far in 2008-09.

For bettors

  • Under is 4-1 in Raptors last 5 road games.
  • Under is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
  • Road team is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
  • Raptors are 1-5 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

Prediction

I was way off yesterday and will try to get back on track. The Celtics are going to roll in this one. Toronto has some issues to work out and intensity and hard work for a full game is one. Boston wins 91-80 tonight.

Other links

Doug Smith’s blog - The morning after.
Celtics247 - Preview of tonight’s game.

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