The Raptors face a pesky Celtics team tonight in Boston. The Raps handled their business last season against the Celtics, going 3-1. This year’s group appears to be a much tougher matchup with the return of Rajon Rondo and additions such as Marcus Thorton and Marcus Smart fortifying their second unit.
Boston Quick Facts:
- 1-2, with losses on the road against Dallas and Houston.
- Improved offense: 108 points per game — 2nd in the league. Offensive rating 108.4 — 11th overall.
- Defensive Woes: 109 points allows per game — 29th in the league. Defensive rating 109.4 — 23rd overall. They’ve protected the rim better than expected so far. Opponents are shooting 53.2% at the rim, good for 15th in the league.
- Bring your running shoes: 99.7 pace — 2nd highest in the league.
- Excellent ball movement: 2nd in assists per game, 3rd in points created by assists per game and 1st in assist opportunities per game.
Keys to success for Toronto:
- Win the free throw battle: This should be a lopsided matchup as Toronto averages the 2nd most free throw attempts per game and Boston averages the 2nd least FTA per game.
- Protect the ball: The Raptors’ excellent ball protection, a league low 9.8 turnovers a game, will be put to the test tonight. Boston has forced the 5th most turnovers and the 4th most steals per game so far this season.
- Transition defense: 19.4% of Boston’s baskets come off of fast breaks. This percentage is second only to Golden State.
- Protect the paint: Boston is among the shortest teams in the league and so far they’ve had their shot blocked more times per game than any team in the NBA. Nevertheless, the Celtics score a league high 51.9% of their points in the paint.
- Box Out: Boston is 2nd best offensive rebounding team in the league so far.
- Break out of the three-point slump!: Toronto has been collectively terrible from beyond the arc so far this season, ranking 28th in 3 point percentage at 25.5%. The good news for the Raptors is that Boston is allowing the highest 3-point field goal percentage in the league at 42.3%.
Look for Boston to come out aggressively after falling behind big in the first half of each of their two losses. Don’t be surprised to see Brad Stevens employ a havoc wreaking three-guard lineup consisting of Avery Bradley, Rondo and Marcus Smart in spurts throughout the game. The Raptors are still very much the favorites in this one but a win on the road in the tail end of a back-to-back will not come easily. What’s more, most fans agree that something has been just a little bit off with the Raps so far this season, despite the 3-1 start. If the Raptors are successful in forcing Boston into outside shots, getting back on D and regaining the three-point shooting prowess they showed last season, then they should improve to 4-1.
All stats for this article provided by NBA.com.
