Where do the Toronto Raptors starters rank among East playoff teams?
By Jeff Borsuk
5. Indiana Pacers
- PG, Darren Collison
- SG, Wesley Matthews
- SF, Bojan Bogdanovic
- PF, Thaddeus Young
- C, Myles Turner
The Indiana Pacers became a completely different team the moment that their star player, Victor Oladipo went down with an injury during the January 23rd game against the Raptors. His omission from the lineup makes the Pacers a team that does not invoke the same fear in their opponents.
But the Pacers still have some players. Bojan Bogdanovic is having the best season of his five-year career. He is averaging 18 points and 42.5-percent from beyond the arc. Though he doesn’t take many threes, teams need to respect his ability to snipe.
The man they brought in to launch from distance is Wesley Matthews (a player that the Raptors were hoping to land). He will let it fly all game. So too will their point guard Darren Collison. He averaged 40.7-percent from outside this season. Having all this firepower is enough to tire out defences because they are forced to close out and chase rotations.
The Pacers also feature physical players in Thaddeus Young and Myles Turner. Turner will force offences to alter shots thanks to his strong rim protection. He averaged 2.7 denials per game.
4. Boston Celtics
- PG, Kyrie Irving
- SG, Marcus Smart (injured 2 rounds)
- SF, Jayson Tatum
- PF, Al Horford
- C, Aron Baynes
- Note: Starting lineup is very fluid
This lineup should be scary. They slip to the fourth position due to dysfunction. The Boston Celtics have managed to go on runs this season but never looked like they were comfortable together.
Marcus Smart will not be playing in the first round as he recovers from injury. This opens up a spot for coach Brad Stevens to tinker with his lineup. It will likely be Jaylen Brown who slots in to fill the void.
The Celtics are led by one of the best point guards in the league, Kyrie Irving. There are few players who are trusted to the same degree that Irving is in Boston to make clutch baskets. He can get hot in a hurry and take over games.
The Celtic youngster, Jayson Tatum, was fantastic last year as a runner-up for Rookie of the Year. He has been even better in his sophomore season. He improved in multiple categories including points, rebounds, assists, and steals.
The Celtics have a very talented forward group including Gordon Hayward who Stevens like to play with his bench unit. This allows players like Al Horford, who combines skill, size, and high basketball IQ to share the floor with a banger like Aron Baynes.