Toronto Raptors vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 1/9/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Toronto Raptors vs Boston Celtics

Date: Friday, January 9, 2026

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics (23-13) host the Toronto Raptors (23-15) at TD Garden on Friday.

The Raptors took the court against the Hornets and walked away with a win by a score of 97-96 in their last game. Toronto walked away from the game with a 41.3% field goal percentage (38 out of 92) and made 7 out of their 34 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the free throw line, the Raptors made 14 of their 19 tries for a percentage of 73.7%. Regarding pulling down boards, they compiled 42 with 15 of them being offensive. They also doled out 18 assists for the game as well as creating 18 turnovers and getting 6 steals. With regard to defense, Toronto let their opponent shoot 39.0% from the floor on 32 out of 82 shooting. Charlotte recorded 19 dimes and had 3 steals for the game. Moreover, Charlotte grabbed 50 boards (16 offensive, 34 defensive) and had 4 blocks. Charlotte finished the contest at 81.8% at the charity stripe by making 18 of 22 attempts. They converted 14 of 38 attempts from distance. When discussing personal fouls, the Raptors ended up finishing with 19 and the Hornets accumulated 19 personal fouls.

RJ Barrett is a guy who was a factor for the game. He notched 28 points on 12 of 25 shooting. He played for 35 mins and also pulled down 7 boards. Barrett finished the game at 48.0% from the floor and dished out 1 assist.

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Toronto heads into this matchup with a record of 23-15 on the campaign. They turn it over 14.1 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 21.3 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Toronto is snagging 43.4 rebounds per game and has accounted for 1,106 assists this season, which has them ranked 2nd in basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Raptors are hitting 34.6% on 3-pointers (445 of 1,285) and 77.5% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 114.0 pts per game (23rd in basketball) while hitting 47.4% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Raptors are forcing 15.9 turnovers per game while drawing 19.7 fouls. They rank 9th in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 937 conceded for the year. The Raptors defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 45.9% (1,505 of 3,278) and they concede 44.0 rebounds per contest as a team. They surrender 34.2% on three-point shots and they rank 5th in basketball in opponents PPG (111.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the Celtics took a loss by a final score of 114-110 against the Nuggets. Concerning cleaning the glass, Boston permitted Denver to get 39 in total (12 offensive). They finished 45.5% from three-point range by going 20 of 44 and walked away from this one shooting 16 of 24 at the free throw line (66.7%). The Celtics permitted the Nuggets to knock down 39 of 87 attempts from the field which had them shooting 44.8% for this contest. In all, the Celtics shot 43 out of 95 from the floor which had them shooting 45.3%. When it comes to 3-point shots, Boston buried 15 of their 38 tries (39.5%). They were able to make 9 of them for a clip of 60.0%. The Nuggets had 15 personal fouls for this contest which got the Celtics to the free throw line for a total of 15 attempts. They gave up possession of the ball 14 times, while getting 6 steals in this game. The Celtics were able to corral 32 defensive rebounds and 21 offensive rebounds totaling 53 in the matchup.

Jaylen Brown was important for the Celtics for the matchup. Brown accumulated 33 points in his 34 mins of playing time and had 4 dimes for the matchup. He made 14 of 29 for the game for a rate of 48.3%, and accumulated 7 rebounds.

Boston has a record of 23-13 for the season. As an offensive team, the Celtics are shooting 47.4% from the floor, which has them ranked 11th in basketball. Boston has 4,232 pts for the year (117.6 per contest) and they pull down 44.3 boards per game. They are getting an assist 23.8 times per contest (29th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 12.0 times per contest. The Celtics are committing 21.2 personal fouls every game and they connect on 78.8% from the charity stripe.

The Celtics are ranked 2nd in basketball in PPG surrendered with 110.6. They are forcing their opponents into 14.1 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.0% from the floor (3rd in basketball). The Boston defense concedes 37.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (516 of 1,387) and their opposition makes 79.6% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 25.3 assists and 41.8 boards every game, which has them ranked 7th and 5th in basketball.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Toronto

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