1 reason Raptors can beat every Top 4 Seed in Eastern Conference
By Mike Luciano
Celtics: Availability concerns
The Celtics have been nearly unstoppable in the second half when they have their full assortment of players. With Robert Williams and Marcus Smart holding down the fort on defense, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been given free rein to take over on offense. It might be a bit harder to win with that formula against Toronto in the playoffs.
The most glaring absence is Williams, who is going to be out for a long time due to a knee injury. On top of the fact that Tatum and Brown are managing minor injuries, Brown still has not put to bed questions about his vaccination status that could completely change the calculus for Toronto.
The Celtics might not field their best team against the Toronto Raptors.
Boston might not be at full strength, and Toronto has shown they can beat them when they don’t have their full cast of characters on display. Sure, Marcus Smart has improved offensively. Can he be trusted to shoulder a major scoring load over the course of a seven-game series?
While there are plenty of holdovers from the 2019-20 Celtics team that gave Pascal Siakam some fits and knocked Toronto out of the bubble, the Raptors shouldn’t hold onto that series as an expectation of how things will work this time around. Boston might not have all of their big names.