Apr 16, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Toronto Raptors shooting guard Terrence Ross (31) goes up for a dunk against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports

• The Raps’ excellent play lately has been triggered by the emerging two-headed scoring monster of DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay. If DeMar once again makes 3 of 6 threes, and Rudy gets his baskets efficiently, the monster will collect 45 points. Should that occur, the Raps will be in serious contention for the win.
• If Jonas Valanciunas can put wax in his ears, so he can ignore the trash talking of Kevin Garnett, he should have a field day. I’d be surprised if Kevin played more than 20 minutes (the Celtics are locked into the #7 seed, so this game is about avoiding injuries for them), and JV can own the smallish Celtic front line.
• Can Terrence Ross find his stroke from distance in the season’s final game? We can all hope so. While it’s great to see him getting out in transition for exciting and easy slams, we need his 3-ball shooting.
• Qunicy Acy gets a double-double. He is going to be so much more than the second coming of Reggie Evans.

Apr 12, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Quincy Acy (4) gets a rebound against the Chicago Bulls at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Chicago 97-88. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

I’ve been calling for Raps’ wins all year in this space. I’m not stopping now, particularly since the team has won 6 of their last 7. I think the Celtics will be in Toronto in body, but not in spirit. The Raps will ride their swingmen’s hot hands to a 100-85 victory.

Brian Boake is Senior Editor for Raptors Rapture. “Like” Raptors Rapture on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @RaptorsRapture for all the latest news and updates about the best damn NBA team from Canada.

Mar 13, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics power forward Chris Wilcox (44) dunks the ball against the Toronto Raptors during the first quarter at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Gay was his usual self in the first quarter, and by that I mean he was turning the ball over every two dribbles. He was sluggish and clearly not 100 percent, but he did put up 7 points in the opening frame.

The quarter ended on a high note, and to me its importance cannot be overstated. Terrence Ross got the ball in the corner, did a little shake/shimmy, drove toward the hoop and absolutely launched himself for a one-handed slam around a defender. I think these sorts of plays where he makes his own drive (as opposed to a fast break dunk) will be huge for Ross’s confidence.

The second quarter reminded us of what we all knew in our hearts: Sebastian Telfair is not much more than a grade-A scrub, and I want John Lucas back for God’s sake. I want Telfair out of Toronto almost as much as I want that Canadian Club Whiskey guy to get booted off television. Telly did have 5 points and 3 assists in 11 minutes, though, so I suppose I shouldn’t

Mar 13, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Toronto Raptors small forward Rudy Gay (22) drives the ball against Boston Celtics power forward Jeff Green (8) during the first quarter at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

be so hard on him.

The Celts picked things up in the second and third quarters, getting anything they wanted on offense while the Raptors’ gameplan devolved into an onslaught of forced DeMar DeRozan jumpers. Telfair got ejected as well, which was probably for the better.

In the fourth quarter the game quickly got out of hand, with the Raps air-balling multiple threes. I could rant about the specifics, but I’ll leave it at this: it was ugly. Luckily, Ross took  flight multiple times, which is always nice to watch.

Three Stars 

1. No Raptor, really. But Amir Johnson was his usual self, competing on every possession.

2. Paul Pierce. Rudy Gay needs to take a few lessons from the old guy, cause dude knows how to move with the basketball and use his body to get high-percentage looks. Take note, Rudy.

3. Jeff Green was pretty good, going for 20 points (on 50 percent shooting), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in 31 minutes.

Three Flops

1. Everybody. There were inefficient offensive and defensive performances right across the board. Let’s put this one in the books, folks.

The Raptors next play the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday.

Casey Sherman is a staff writer for Raptors Rapture. “Like” Raptors Rapture on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @RaptorsRapture for all the latest news and updates about the best damn NBA team from Canada.