The Celtics host the Toronto Raptors for the second of back to back preseason home games. The Celtics beat the Raptors 4-0 last season. Toronto comes into the game having won their first game 125-98 over the Wizards in Montreal and they lost their second game 113-95 against those same Wizards in Washington.
The Celtics will complete their preseason slate on Tuesday against these same Raptors in Toronto. These two teams will play 4 times this season on November 16, December 31, January 15, and February 25. The Celtics are 70-42 all time overall against the Raptors and they are 42-14 in games played in Boston.
As with every preseason game, it’s hard to tell which players will start since coaches like to rest vets and regular rotation players to give rookies, end of bench players and camp contract players a chance to show what they can do. This is especially true of the Celtics, who are playing on the second night of back to back games.
Kristaps Porzingis is remains out for the Celtics as he rehabs from off season ankle surgery. For the Raptors, 4 players are on the injury list. Immanuel Quickley is questionable with a sprained thumb. RJ Barrett is out with a shoulder sprain. Ja’Kobe Walter is also out with a shoulder sprain. Bruce Brown is out after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Sam Hauser
Al Horford
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Training Camp Contracts
Ron Harper, Jr
Jay Scrubb
Dmytro Skapintsev
Lonnie Walker IV
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Raptors Starters
Raptors Reserves
Jonathan Mogbo
Jared Rhoden
Garrett Temple
Jamal Shead
Bruno Fernando
Chris Boucher
Jahmi’us Ramsey
Kelly Olynyk
Jamison Battle
2 Way Players
DJ Carton
Ulrich Chomche
Branden Carlson
Injuries/Out
Immanuel Quickley (thumb) questionable
RJ Barrett (shoulder) out
Ja’Kobe Walter (shoulder) out
Bruce Brown (knee) out
Head Coach
Darko Rajakovic
Key Matchups
Jayson Tatum vs Scottie Barnes
Assuming that Jayson Tatum plays in back to back games, this should be a good matchup. Barnes had 16 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals on Friday vs the Wizards. He shot 46.7% from the field but went 0-5 from three.
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Luke Kornet
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
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Jakob Poeltl
Photo by Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images
Luke Kornet vs Jakob Poeltl
Kornet may start here, or it’s possible that one of the other centers start since they are playing back to back. Poeltl has started both of the games for the Raptors so far, but it’s possible that they may choose to start another center in this game. Poeltl finished Friday’s game with 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal while shooting 33% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc.
Honorable Mention
Sam Hauser vs Chris Boucher
Boucher came off the bench for the Raptors on Friday to score 22 points and grab 7 rebounds. He shot 70% from the field and 75% from beyond the arc in 18 minutes of play. Sam Hauser has played well for the Celtics so far in the preseason and this could be a matchup between 6th men.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense will always be the key to winning. If the Celtics hope to win the championship again this season, it will have to be with defense first. In the preseason, the Raptors are 5th with 55 points in the paint and 25th with 35 three pointers attempted per game. The Celtics must try to keep the Raptors out of the paint and force them to play out of their comfort zone.
Rebound – The Raptors are 6th with 48 rebounds per game while the Celtics are 27th with 41 rebounds per game. Last season, the Celtics were 2nd pulling down 46.3 rebounds per game. Rebounding is very important to limit second chance baskets and fast breaks. The Raptors are 1st in the preseason with 22 2nd chance points per game. Much of rebounding is effort and hustle. The Celtics must put out more effort to beat the Raptors to rebounds.
Depth – With the Celtics playing in back to back games and the Raptors playing without 3 key players, and possibly also resting starters, depth will prove to be key to the win. Coaches will be playing their 2 way players, camp players and role players to get an idea of what they have in them and how they fit into the offensive and defensive schemes.
3 Point Shooting – The Celtics relied on shooting threes last season. They were first in the league, taking 43.5 three pointers per game. They were also 1st in the league, making 16.5 threes a game. Over their 2 games against the Nuggets, the Celtics attempted a whopping 54 threes per game and made 35% of them. When the Celtics are making their 3’s they are hard to beat, but when they struggle to make 3’s, the game gets really ugly.
X-Factors
Back to Back at Home – The Celtics are playing in their 2nd game in as many nights and so fatigue may be a factor. Also I doubt the Celtics starters will play much, if at all on the second night of back to back games in the preseason. But the Celtics are at home and whoever plays should get a boost from the fans while the Raptors are on the road for the second straight game and will be playing in front of a hostile crowd.
It’s the Preseason – Player development, building chemistry, and player evaluation are the most important thing for coaches in the preseason. We will probably see more of the rookies in this game as well as the players on camp contracts as coaches evaluate the players on the bubble for playing time and try to preserve their starters for the regular season.
Officiating – I know that I say this every game, but the officiating can always be an x-factor even in the preseason. Every crew calls the game differently whether they call every little ticky tack foul or they let a lot of contact go and let the teams play. The refs are in their preseason also, so it?s hard to know how they will call this one. The Celtics have got to adjust to the way the game is being called and not let the calls affect their focus or their play.
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