Two surprisingly competitive teams in a largely woeful Eastern Conference will come together on Saturday night in Toronto, as the Boston Celtics pay a visit to the Toronto Raptors.
Despite Jayson Tatum’s long-term injury and the Celtics shipping off parts ahead of a transitional season, the C’s have jumped out to a strong start and reside in the top six in the Eastern Conference. Thanks to head coach Joe Mazzulla’s relentless competitiveness and an incredible season out of Jaylen Brown, Boston has proven it belongs in the playoff picture when factoring in current NBA odds
Perhaps even more surprising to this point is the success of the Raptors, who enter the weekend a game up on Saturday’s opponents. With Scottie Barnes back to his best and Brandon Ingram fitting right into Toronto’s lineup, the Raps have made a leap few saw coming.
With an NBA League Pass special on the slate this Saturday in Toronto, check out our Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors predictions, including our NBA expert picks, with tip set for December 20 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Matchup Boston Celtics vs Toronto Raptors Overview
Teams: Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors
Date: Saturday, December 20, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Scotiabank Arena
Win Probabilities
The NBA win probabilities have been generated using insights from recent NBA games in combination with expert NBA picks and predictions. The Boston Celtics have been given a 56.5% chance to win this NBA game. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors have a 43.5.% chance according to the NBA win probabilities.
Projected Final Score
The projected final score anticipates a close game north of the border, but for the Toronto Raptors to prevail with a final score of Toronto Raptors 104-99 Boston Celtics.
Expert Prediction: Who Wins?
Two of the surprises of the season across the NBA, the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics, will meet on Saturday for the second time in as many weeks.
The first meeting, also in Toronto, saw the Celtics win the turnover battle and the offensive rebounding split to create enough extra possessions to win 121-113. As has been the constant for the C’s in 2025, Jaylen Brown was their life force, as he finished with 30 points on 47% shooting from the field. What helped, and hasn’t happened nearly enough this season as he’s forced into an outsized role, is Derrick White joining the party with 27 points of his own.
While the Raptors’ central scorer, Brandon Ingram, responded with 30 of his own, they didn’t get enough from secondary pieces to hang around. That has been the crux of Toronto’s season. When it gets offensive production out of both Ingram and Scottie Barnes, it’s incredibly tricky to beat. But when Barnes’ scoring drops, with the do-all wing still inconsistent, the offense can become grinding in Toronto.
With two upstart sides, both of which depend on their primary scorer heavily, coming together for a second time in such a short stretch, it sets up a fascinating matchup in Canada.
Why the Boston Celtics Can Cover
Despite Jayson Tatum’s absence and altered floor spacing after the trade of Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics have retained the main characteristic they’ve held throughout Joe Mazzulla’s time as head coach. Over the past few years, and again this season, the Celtics get off three pointers like few teams in league history. Up to this point, Boston is fourth in the NBA in three point rate, taking 47.6% of its shots from distance — after an absurd 52.9% three point rate last year, which led the league.
That focus on efficiency enables the Celtics to manufacture good offense almost no matter who is on the floor for them. Worryingly for the Raptors, it also enables Boston to be a serious threat to a Raps team that doesn’t get out to defend shooters at a high level — opponents are taking 43.5% of their shots against these Raptors, which is the sixth-highest mark in the league.
That punished the Raptors in the first meeting, with the Celtics taking 47 threes and making them at a 42% clip — good enough for very efficient offense and, ultimately, an eight point victory.
Against a Raptors team that ranks in the bottom half of offensive rating (adjusted for opponent) and depends heavily on Ingram and can often lack an offensive punch beyond him, Boston’s commitment to the three ball not only keeps their offense above water but gives them a clear path to cover on Saturday.
Why the Toronto Raptors Can Cover
Make no mistake, the Toronto Raptors’ ability to hang with good to great teams while RJ Barrett is out is difficult. Losing the secondary ball handler and scorer has left the Raps slightly stuck in the mud, with their best route to keeping things tight and covering vs. the Celtics being to feed two central players.
While a lot can still be said for Brandon Ingram’s effectiveness, or lack thereof, come playoff time, his reliability so far this season can’t be understated. The former second overall pick has scored fewer than 20 points in just eight games, with his 30-point outburst in the previous meeting against the Celtics one of three 30+ point nights so far this year. In order for Toronto to stick with the C’s, Ingram needs to be the efficient, consistent scorer he has been this year.
Then there’s Scottie Barnes, whose quiet output in the first meeting between the Raptors and Celtics effectively sunk his team’s hopes. While Barnes’ effectiveness goes so far beyond scoring, while Barrett is out, the Raps need him to produce. Unsurprisingly, in the Raps’ last eight games, during which they’ve gone 2-6, their success was directly correlated with Barnes’ scoring. Across the two wins, he has averaged 22.5 points per game and had a 30-point night in an overtime loss. But, in the five regulation losses, Barnes has averaged just 17.0 points per game.
While the Celtics can use Jordan Walsh on one of Ingram or Barnes, they are short on quality wing defenders to deploy without overly taxing Jaylen Brown. The Raptors need to take advantage, and get quality nights out of both Ingram and Barnes. If they succeed, a path to covering on Saturday opens up.
Current Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
| Boston Celtics | -130 | -112 | -120 |
| Toronto Raptors | -105 | -125 | -120 |
How to Make Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors Picks
Ready to make picks on the Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors matchup on Saturday, December 20? Make sure to head over to Sprtzino.com, where you can find every NBA game on the slate this weekend, and so much more!
