The Toronto Raptors host the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
The Raptors are coming off a thrilling 104-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors thanks to Chris Boucher’s outburst in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Celtics barely escaped with the win against the New Orleans Pelicans in their last game.
The head-to-head series between Toronto and Boston in recent years has not been close. The Celtics have won 10 straight games and 12 of their last 13 at Scotiabank Arena.
Scottie Barnes had a solid outing against Golden State, finishing with a team-high 23 points. Chris Boucher is looking to have another solid performance from off the bench as he finished with 18 points, while RJ Barrett who ran into foul trouble finished with 15 points against the Warriors. Barrett averages a team-high 22.4 points per game this season and has been great at home averaging 26.4 points in Toronto, so this should be a bounce back game for him.
The Raptors have been one of the most injury riddled teams this season and they will continue to be without Immanuel Quickley. He’s been ruled out against the Celtics with a left groin strain. With Quickley out, the Raptors could turn to Davion Mitchell once again who got the start against the Warriors. Ja’Kobe Walter is on assignment with the Raptors 905, joining Jonathan Mogbo, Eugene Omoruyi, A.J. Lawson and Ulrich Chomche. Jamison Battle is back with the Raptors. There are no injuries for the Celtics at the time of this preview.
This is the third of four meetings between both teams this season. The Celtics opened the season series with a 126-123 overtime win at home on Nov. 16 and then annihilated the Raptors 125-71 on New Year’s Eve.
Boston Celtics (28-11) vs. Toronto Raptors (9-31)
7:30 p.m. EST, Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
TV: TSN
Projected Celtics Starting Lineup:
PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Derrick White
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Kristaps Porzingis
Key Reserves: Payton Pritchard, Al Horford, Luke Kornet
Projected Raptors Starting Lineup:
PG: Davion Mitchell
SG: Gradey Dick
SF: RJ Barrett
PF: Scottie Barnes
C: Jakob Poeltl
Key Reserves: Ochai Agbaji, Chris Boucher, Jamal Shead
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