Two of the East's top teams will go head-to-head when the Raptors host the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.
Entering the game, the Raptors sit in the second seed in the East with a 44-17 record, while the Celtics occupy the fifth spot with a 37-23 record. The match-up between the two teams is the fourth and final of the regular season, as the Raptors won the first meeting back in October, but the Celtics have come out victorious in the two most recent meetings. With another win, the Celtics will take the season series against their rivals to the North, while the Raptors can make it an even split on the season with a win.
How to watch Celtics at Raptors
- Date: Tuesday, Feb. 26
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Location: Scotiabank Arena -- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- TV: TNT
- Streaming: fuboTV (try it free)
- Live stats: GameTracker
- Odds: Raptors -3.5
Odds and analysis
Check Sportsline's NBA pick sheet for all your daily odds.
Celtics: The Celtics enter their final regular season match-up with the Raptors far from where they want to be. Entering the season, many expected the Celtics to run away with the East, after they were just one win short of a Finals appearance last season. However, chemistry and injury issues have prevented the Celtics from reaching their full potential, as they would not even have home-court advantage in the first round if the postseason started today. A big win against the rival Raptors could go a long way towards getting the Celtics back on track for their final playoff push.
Raptors: Though not as severe as Boston, the Raptors also have some things to figure out before they're ready for the start of the NBA's second season in April. They continue to integrate center Marc Gasol into the rotation following his deadline acquisition, and coach Nick Nurse has been tweaking the lineup in order to maximize his team's potential.
Game prediction, pick
This one should be a battle, but the line likes the Raptors, likely because the game is in Toronto. The Raptors are one of the league's best teams at home (25-6), while the Celtics are sub-.500 on the road (14-15). The Celtics have won two out of three with the Raptors on the season, but Toronto has been playing better ball (8-2 over their last 10) than Boston has lately (6-4), and seem like the better bet.
