Raptors at Boston Celtics: Preview & 3 keys to victory
By Brian Boake
With the Raptors dealing with a bunch of nagging injuries and fatigue afflicting its top players, puzzling out this game is a challenge.
The Toronto Raptors will try to run the table against the Boston Celtics tonight in Beantown. Atlantic Division teams play each other four times, and the Raptors have won the first three games this season with relative ease. With a banged-up roster facing a healthy one, the Raptors should be considered underdogs tonight.
All three Raptors who were listed as “questionable” prior to Sunday’s game against Orlando, and who didn’t play, have the same status. Jonas Valanciunas’s twice-injured left hand is perhaps the most worrisome situation. He needs to sit more games until the small bones are reset fully. Patrick Patterson has a tender left ankle, and James Johnson is cursed with plantar fasciitis, a chronic ailment. I’d hold those two out for this game, and tomorrow’s in Houston, at least.
Toronto retains a hefty margin over the four teams in a dogfight below them. The overarching concern must be a healthy rotation entering the playoffs, not an extra couple of wins now.
Boston has not been the same team since losing glue-guy Jae Crowder to an ankle sprain 12 days ago. They did halt a four-game slide with wins against Philly and Orlando, a pair of squads who frequently act as a tonic for those in a skid. One of those defeats was last week in Toronto, when the Raptors started with a bang, allowed the Celtics back into the game, then closed the door firmly in crunch time. Toronto’s Q4 dominance was triggered by defense.
Boston has little in the form of interior scoring; their big men are used primarily to pick, pass and rebound. If the Raptors are going to win this game, it will be because they disrupt the passing lanes, forcing the Celtics into awkward shots late in the clock.
The Celtics will roll out the same super-small starting five they did in Toronto. The Raptors can grab a win, though it won’t be easy, if they…:
- …defeat their second unit. I’m assuming Cory Joseph’s one-game rest will have a positive effect. His drives have been effective lately, but his jump shot has been dreadful. If CoJo reaches double figures in points, the Raptors will win. In Friday’s game, a number of Boston’s second unit players were plus; that can’t happen again.
- …control the boards. Long shots lead to long rebounds – everybody must box out.
- …make their 3-balls. Toronto was 13 for 28 on Friday, which included a 1 of 5 from Terrence Ross. He’ll be better. Our guys can shoot over theirs, if the ball hums around the perimeter until it finds an open man.
I’m going to waffle on the result. If the Raptors play the same tiny rotation they did against Orlando, the score will be 106-99 Boston. Should those players currently on the shelf get on the floor, I’ll take Toronto by a 110-105 count.
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.