The Celtics host the Raptors for the first of 4 regular season games. They will meet again on December 31 in Boston and in Toronto on January 15 and February 25. They Played twice in Boston in the preseason with the Celtics winning the first game 115-111 and The Raptors winning the second game 119-118. The Celtics are 70-42 overall all time against the Raptors and they are 42-14 in games played in Boston.
The Raptors returned from a 5 game road trip to host the Detroit Pistons on Friday night for an Emirates NBA Cup loss 99-95. That was their second Emirates NBA Cup game. They lost to the Bucks on Tuesday in their first. This game against the Celtics is the second of back to back games This is their 4th back to back set already this season. They are 1-2 so far in the second game. The Celtics won the series 4-0 last season.
The Celtics have not played since Wednesday and won’t play again until Tuesday when they host the Cavaliers in an Emirates NBA Cup game. They then have 2 more days off before playing at Washington on Friday for their 2rd Emirates Cup game. They then host Minnesota and the Clippers before playing at Chicago and Cleveland. They then have a 5 game home stand against Miami, Detroit, Milwaukee, Memphis and Chicago.
After this game at Boston, the Raptors will face the Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timber Wolves at home. They will then head out for a 4 game road trip through Cleveland, Detroit, New Orleans and Miami. After that, they have a 7 game home stand where they will host Miami, Indiana, Oklahoma City, Dallas, New York, Brooklyn and Houston.
The Raptors changed their roster this off season with free agent signings, trades and the draft. They signed Immanuel Quickley, Garrett Temple, Bruno Fernando, and Jamison Battle as free agents. They traded Jalen McDaniels for Davion Mitchell. They drafted Ulrich Chomche (57), Jamal Sheed (45), Jonathan Mogbo (31) and Ja’Kobe Walter (19). They lost Jordan Nwora, Gary Trent, Jr, and Malik Williams to free agency.
Al Horford missed Wednesday’s game against the Nets but should be back in the lineup for this game. Jaden Springer has missed the last 3 games with a knee injury and is questionable for this game. Jrue Holiday has been added to the injury list as questionable with left knee tendinopathy. If Jrue can’t play, Payton Pritchard will likely get the start. Kristaps Porzingis is getting closer to a return to the team but remains out for this game.
The Raptors have several key players out. Scottie Barnes is out with an orbital injury. Bruce Brown is out with a knee injury. Immanual Quickley is out with an elbow injury. Ja’Kobe Walter has missed the last 4 games with a shoulder injury and is questionable for this game. Kelly Olynyk has a back straing and has yet to suit up for the Raptors this season. He is questionable for this game.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Luke Kornet
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
Sam Hauser
Baylor Scheierman
Neemias Queta
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Jaden Springer (knee) questionable
Jrue Holiday (knee) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Raptors Starters
Raptors Reserves
Chris Boucher
Bruno Fernando
Jonathan Mogbo
Jamal Shead
Garrett Temple
2 Way Players
DJ Carton
Ulrich Chomche
Jamison Battle
Injuries/Out
Immanuel Quickley (elbow) out
Scottie Barnes (orbital) out
Ja’Kobe Walter (shoulder) questionable
Bruce Brown (knee) out
Kelly Olynyk (back) questionable
Head Coach
Darko Rajakovic
Key Matchups
Jayson Tatum vs RJ Barrett
Barrett is averaging 21.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He is shooting 41.5% from the field and 31.6% from beyond the arc. Tatum is coming off a big game against the Nets and hopefully will keep that same mindset in this game. Barrett missed the two preseason games against the Celtics.
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Derrick White
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
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Gradey Dick
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Derrick White vs Gradey Dick
Dick is averaging 20.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steal per game. He is shooting 44.8% from the field and 37.3% from beyond the arc. In the first preseason game against the Celtics, he scored 18 points on 33.3% shooting from the field and 50% shooting from beyond the arc. In the second preseason game, he scored 27 points, while shooting 57.1% from the field and 37.5% on threes.
Honorable Mention
Al Horford vs Jakob Poeltl
Poeltl is averaging 13.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. He is shooting 55.8% from the field and hasn’t hit a 3 this season. In the first preseason game, he finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 60% from the field. In the second preseason game, he finished with 15 points, and 16 rebounds while shooting 75% from the field. He isn’t a threat from the perimeter, but the Celtics need to stay with him in the paint and especially box him out on the boards.
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. The Celtics are capable of locking down teams with suffocating defense, but they have to put the effort into it. So far this season, they have put that kind of effort out at times and at other times have slacked off. They were 1st in the regular season and 1st in the playoffs on defense last season. The Celtics are 8th currently with a defensive rating of 110.0. The Raptors are 28th with a defensive rating of 118.4. The Celtics need to put out maximum effort on defense whether they are facing the top team or the bottom team.
Rebound – The Raptors are 11th with 44.7 rebounds per game while the Celtics are 19th with 42.8 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 2nd 18.5 second chance points per game. Much of rebounding is effort and hustle. The Celtics must put out more effort to beat the Raptors to rebounds.
Don’t Underestimate – The last time the Celtics faced a struggling team with several key players out, they lost to the Hawks due to a lack of effort on their part. The Celtics have to come into this game ready to give maximum effort and to play the Raptors like they are the top team in the league. They can’t underestimate them because of their record or their injuries. If they do, they could end up with another lost game that they should have won.
Play Hard for 48 Minutes – The Celtics have been getting off to a slow start in recent games, finding themselves in a hole that they have to dig out of. They have been playing hard for periods during the game and that has resulted in an early deficit or losing a lead. They have to come out strong and take control of the game from the start and then play hard right up until the final buzzer. Don’t give the Raptors any hope.
X-Factors
Home and Fatigue – The Celtics are at home and they should get a boost from the fans while the Raptors are on the road and will be playing in front of a hostile crowd. The Celtics have been off since Wednesday and so should be rested while the Raptors are playing on the second night of back to back games and had to travel after Friday’s game to get to Boston.
Officiating – I know that I say this every game, but the officiating can always be an x-factor. 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 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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