Toronto Raptors' Fred VanVleet (23) makes a 3-point basket in front of Boston Celtics' Marcus Smart (36) at the end of the first half of an NBA conference semifinal playoff basketball game Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Toronto Raptors' Fred VanVleet (23) makes a 3-point basket in front of Boston Celtics' Marcus Smart (36) at the end of the first half of an NBA conference semifinal playoff basketball game Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.  AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
NBA

Bet the NBA Playoffs: In Monday's Boston Celtics vs Toronto Raptors matchup, Greg Frank is betting on better shooting

Greg Frank

Celtics (-1.5) @ Raptors (212)

Pick: Over 212

We banked on the Raptors delivering their best performance of the series thus far in Game 4 and they delivered leading most of the way in a 100-93 win to even the series. While we’ll never complain about a winner, we’d be lying if we said we expected Boston to shoot just 20% from the three-point line. Upon further review, the losing team in each game of this series has struggled from three-point land. Here’s a look:

  • Game 1: Boston wins 112-94, Toronto shoots 10-40 from 3.

  • Game 2: Boston wins 102-99, Toronto shoots 11-40 from 3.

  • Game 3: Toronto wins 104-103, Boston shoots 9-29 from 3.

  • Game 4: Toronto wins 100-93, Boston shoots 7-35 from 3.

Three-point shooting has never been as important in the NBA as it is now and sure enough given these numbers, the under has gone 4-0 in this series. While both teams defend the perimeter well, we believe there’s still an element of randomness here that should even out before the series ends. Considering in Games 1-3 the two teams still combined for over 200 points, all we’re asking for is 2-4 more triples to drop for tonight’s losing team and we should be able to get over 212. We’ll bet on that happening.

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