3 key matchups that will determine winners in Raptors-Celtics games

1. Pascal Siakam vs. Jayson Tatum

While Toronto is constantly preaching the benefits of their unique defensive scheme and Boston trying to lean on a balanced 3-point approach, close games between the two will likely come down to which of these budding superstars plays better down the stretch. Siakam will need his best games of the year to match up well with Tatum.

Tatum has a legitimate MVP case at this point, as he is averaging over 30 points per game for the best team in the league. That seems like a winning formula, generally. However, Siakam is still performing at an All-NBA level and is fully recovered from his groin injury, giving him all the tools he needs to take on Tatum on both ends.

Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam must be better than Jayson Tatum.

Tatum may have had a 40-point game against the Raptors in 2021, but he has only topped 25 points twice in his last 10 games against Nick Nurse while shooting just 41%. Siakam had an eight-point stinker against Boston last year, but he also put up 40-point and 33-point efforts in the last few seasons.

Siakam’s bubble flop against the Celtics is so far in the past that it’s not even worth analyzing with regard to his play against Boston. With Robert Williams not there to prevent him from going to the rim, Siakam needs to exploit that mismatch as much as possible.