5 Who popped and 2 who flopped in nail-biting victory over the Celtics

Jakob Poeltl Popped

The Raptors' starting center has been much maligned over the course of the offseason, sometimes for fair reasons and sometimes he was merely catching strays. It's true that he is older than the rest of this core, he is not a truly top-tier rim protector and his offensive game is limited. That analysis, often concluding that Toronto should look to trade him, misses the fact that he is a really good player and that the Raptors tend to excel when he is on the court.

That reality was in full effect against the Celtics, as Poeltl was a monster in the paint -- the Celtics didn't challenge him often, and he technically finished the game with zero blocks, but they adjusted their entire offense to shooting outside or scoring in transition. When the Raptors were set and Poeltl was in the paint, the Celtics struggled to create looks inside.

Poeltl was also a monster on the glass, pulling in 16 rebounds. He was johhny on the spot a few times on offense to tip in misses, but he also flashed a free-throw line push shot that was on a rope right into the rim. The Raptors ran some actions with Poeltl handling at the elbow and he did well, racking up four assists. In all, he had an excellent night and finishes with a 15-point, 16-rebound double-double and was +25 in his 30 minutes.

Jonathan Mogbo Flopped...Again

The one saving grace for Jonathan Mogbo this preseason was that he was productive, putting up stats in the box score even if he was a mess on tape, looking lost defensively and being a complete non-entity shooting the basketball. Against the Celtics even that disappeared, as Mogbo finished the game with 0 points and just one rebound, one assist and one steal.

The eye test was just as bad, as he was completely roasted by Jayson Tatum again and again. That's not embarrassing, per se -- this is a perennial MVP candidate and the best player on the defending champions -- but Mogbo is supposed to hang his hat on his defense and motor, and he had no chance against Tatum. He was a mind-boggling -28 in his 14 minutes in a game the Raptors still won.

Toronto could have used Mogbo in the rotation, but he will be parked in Mississauga this season. He's nowhere near ready.