Following a dominant first-round playoff win over the Brooklyn Nets, the Toronto Raptors look toward their upcoming second-round clash with the Boston Celtics as narrow -130 favourites on the NBA playoff series prices at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Toronto marched to its first-ever four-game sweep in impressive fashion, averaging 126.3 points per game and claiming victory by double-digit margins on three occasions. Now enjoying a steady 15-1 straight-up run, but concerned about team leader Kyle Lowry’s sore ankle, the team sits as small 2.5-point favourites for Sunday on the NBA odds for this Game 1 matchup in Orlando.
The Raptors’ current surge leaves them as the hottest team in the NBA going into second-round action. In addition to racking up SU wins, the Raptors have also regularly rewarded bettors, going 10-4-1 against the spread in their past 15 outings.
Despite their recent dominance, the Raptors continue to lag behind the trio of favourites on the odds to win the NBA championship at sports betting sites, sitting just ahead of Boston (+800) as a +700 wager on those futures. The Raptors have posted SU wins in just two of seven meetings with Boston since October 2018, capped by their only loss since entering the bubble, a 122-100 defeat as 1.5-point chalk back on August 7.
The Celtics prepare to face the Raptors in the playoffs for the first time listed as a +110 wager on the series prices. Boston is coming off a four-game sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, and has now won eight of nine SU. That marks a major turnaround after tallying consecutive wins on just one occasion while going 5-7 SU in their previous 12 contests.
Boston has also shown signs of turning things around at the sportsbooks, covering the spread in six of its past nine outings to end a 1-5-3 ATS run. The Celtics have enjoyed steady success in Game 1 situations, claiming SU victory in each of their past six series openers. However, Game 1 losses have not boded well for Boston, which has gone on to lose five of its last six series that it has opened with a SU defeat.
In addition, the Celtics have produced disappointing results when set as playoff underdogs, going 3-6 SU and ATS in their past nine such outings. The team has also lost SU and ATS in three of its last four meetings with Toronto when set as an underdog of three or fewer points.
[relatedlinks]
