Charles Krupa / AP
Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens calls to his players during the first quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Boston, Tuesday, April 24, 2018.
Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2019 | 2 a.m.
The sixth season of the annual Play of the Day betting competition between the Sun's sports staff is now underway, effective July 1.
Bankrolls start at $10,000 for each of the four participants, with the objective to increase it as much as possible over the next year. The minimum daily wager is $300, with a $200 penalty assessed for failing to place a bet on an assigned day.
Past winners are Case Keefer in 2018-19 and 2017-2018, Ray Brewer in 2016-2017 and 2015-2016, and Taylor Bern in 2014-2015.
Boston Celtics minus-3 at Toronto Raptors: $990 to win $900
Merry Christmas, and happy basketball tidings. For a lot of people, the NBA doesn't truly start until its Christmas Day slate, which puts on pressure to produce a winner today.
I think the best opportunity comes in the first game.
Pascal Siakam is a nightmare matchup for Boston. Luckily for Boston, Pascal Siakam is injured.
And he's not the only Raptor on the mend. Toronto is beaten up all over the roster — Marc Gasol and Norman Powell are out this morning and Fred VanVleet is likely to play today but still nursing a sore knee.
It's taken heroics from Kyle Lowry for the Raptors to win and cover five of their last six, but it's a mistake to count on those same heroics against the Celtics' strong backcourt defense.
Boston hasn't played in three days, a big advantage in both rest and preparation with one of the NBA's best coaches in Brad Stevens. Toronto coach Nick Nurse is no slouch himself — he's in Stevens' same class — but he hasn't had the same amount of time to tailor a fresh gameplan for Boston this time.
This is the Raptors' third game in four days, a stroke of bad luck for a team already heavily injured.
Current Standings: Grimala (11-5, $9,565), Keefer (20-18-2, $7,915), Emerson (11-15, $7,290), Brewer (9-9, $6,685)
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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