Don’t miss NBC Sports Boston's coverage of Celtics-Raptors, which tips off Friday at 6 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live, and then Mike & Tommy have the call of the game at 7 p.m. You can also stream the game through the MyTeams App.
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We're full speed ahead on the 2019-20 NBA season.
The Boston Celtics highlight another exciting slate of NBA action Friday night, as they battle the 2019 NBA champion Toronto Raptors in their home opener. Can they rebound from an uninspiring loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, or will Pascal Siakam and Co. spoil the TD Garden party?
On every Celtics game day throughout the 2019-20 season, we'll give you our betting picks for Boston's moneyline, point spread and point total, as well as two more "locks" on the NBA slate.
Here are our picks for Friday. (All odds provided by WestGate Superbook.)
Boston Celtics
Toronto Raptors at Boston Celtics, 7 p.m. ET
Moneyline: Enes Kanter is out. Kemba Walker shot 22.2 percent from the floor Wednesday night. The Raptors are riding high after an overtime win on Opening Night. But none of that will matter Friday night at a juiced up TD Garden, where Walker and Co. will make their home debut. I'm rolling with the Celtics (-145), who will feed off the home crowd to dispatch a Toronto team that still showed plenty of weaknesses against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Point Spread: The Celtics (-2.5) have the edge at wing and guard, especially if Jaylen Brown doesn't collect four fouls by halftime. Expect Boston to shoot much better than it did in Philly and get strong efforts from Walker, Brown, Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward. Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka could have their way with an undermanned Boston frontcourt and make this a close game, but the Celtics' depth elsewhere will win out.
Point Total: The 215 point total seems right on the money, but if I have to pick, I'm taking the OVER. The Celtics and Raptors' point total never dipped below 213 in their four meetings last season, and Toronto's defense is considerably less stout without Kawhi Leonard. An improved shooting night for the C's and high outputs from Siakam and Kyle Lowry should push this just over 215.
Darren's record in 2019-20 picking the Celtics: 3-0
NBA Locks of the Night
Utah Jazz (+3.5) at Los Angeles Lakers: Anthony Davis looked awesome in his Lakers debut, and the Staples Center will be buzzing Friday night. But Tuesday's loss to the Clippers proved this team still has some issues to sort out, and the Jazz have a deep, talented roster that should be able to block out the noise and move to 2-0.
Washington Wizards (+8) at Oklahoma City Thunder: Eight points seems like a lot for a Thunder team that didn't look very impressive in a season-opening loss to the Jazz. The Wizards aren't a good team, but they showed some fight against the Mavs on Sunday and should be able to cover here.
Darren's record in 2019-20 picking NBA locks: 1-1
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