Big time yikes. Comment away.
 | BOS Celtics | 112 | Final Box Score | 94 | TOR Raptors |  |
 A- | O. Anunoby33 MIN, 12 PTS, 7 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-6 FG, 1-3 3FG, 3-4 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, -21 +/- Found space on the inside of the arc – as the Celtics were overplaying him off the corner – and the ball found him a lot less often than it should have. Pretty good point of attack defense, and a bit underwhelming as a helper. Altogether, a decent performance. Something to build on going forward. | |
 D- | P. Siakam34 MIN, 13 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 5-16 FG, 0-3 3FG, 3-4 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -20 +/- A really bad game. It looked like he might have something early, as he got to his spots, but to many blown bunnies knocked the wind out of his sails. He tried to force his offense with static post-ups against great individual defenders and a very help-conscious Celtics team. His offensive decision making resembled Zach Randolph. Didn’t make a difference as a defender. Quite simply, he needs to be much, much better. | |
 D- | M. Gasol26 MIN, 7 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 3-7 FG, 0-3 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -18 +/- When he was in the zone defense, he was good. When they were out of the zone, he was uncharacteristically bad. His offense has left everyone wanting except for the Celtics. He wasn’t creating opportunities, and he sure as hell wasn’t finishing them. It’s been a really poor run of form for him. | |
 A- | K. Lowry35 MIN, 17 PTS, 6 REB, 8 AST, 1 STL, 5-12 FG, 1-5 3FG, 6-9 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, -5 +/- Pushed and pushed to try and revive a transition game that was absolutely comatose. A horrible start to the game, but a monstrous finish. The Raptors only player who solved the inside of the Celtics defense, and he came so close to bringing the Raptors within single-digits. Thought he had a good run of defense against Tatum. KLOE, always. | |
 C- | F. VanVleet38 MIN, 11 PTS, 4 REB, 8 AST, 6 STL, 3-16 FG, 2-11 3FG, 3-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -28 +/- The Celtics squeezed him into the middle of the floor and he wasn’t comfortable operating in that space. Tatum/Brown/Smart are long and tenacious defenders, and VanVleet couldn’t playmaker to the corners like he usually does, he couldn’t score from the middle, and he got run off the 3-point line. Excellent gameplan from the Celtics, and a poor performance from VanVleet. Six steals doesn’t move the needle either. | |
 C+ | N. Powell27 MIN, 10 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-12 FG, 2-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -5 +/- Had a moment in the first half, but that was about it. In a game where the Raptors couldn’t breakthrough the Celtics half-court defense, Powell was not the saviour. These are not the Brooklyn Nets. | |
 A- | S. Ibaka26 MIN, 15 PTS, 9 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 4-10 FG, 3-7 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -10 +/- His offense was a major plus today. His willingness to shoot without hesitation is so important on the Raptors, and he thoroughly outplayed Robert Williams. However, his pick n’ roll defense was really poor, and it juiced up a bit of Kemba Walker’s offensive game. Still liked his game today. He’s going to be so, so important for this series. | |
 B | T. Davis13 MIN, 7 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 1-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 9 +/- Punched in a couple baskets. Was opportunistic. Did his thing. | |
 B- | Nick Nurse I liked the initial turn to the jumbo lineup, and the zone defense. Very clearly should have been giving Siakam the ball in motion if he was going to go to him that often. The Raptors play loose on offense, they read and react, and the Celtics dominated them. There might have been room for Matt Thomas or Chris Boucher in this game, but would that have moved the needle? I doubt it. The game 2 adjustments is where he’ll make his money. | |
Things We Saw
- Basically, the Celtics ran the Raptors off the 3-point line and denied them transition opportunities. This made the Raptors try and score off-the-dribble and inside the arc – something they’re not particularly good at. And on top of all that, they bricked, and I mean bricked, a lot of open looks from downtown in the first half. Fair play. We move.
- Smart was awesome. Creative downhill, an absolute sharpshooter, and a malleable defender that the Raptors applied to a bunch of different players. He showed a mix of on-ball prowess with off-ball movement that we typically see from Fred VanVleet.
- Even though he jumbo lineup worked today, I would’ve liked to see Nurse try and go small in this one. They were down by nearly 20 the whole game, throw the kitchen sink at this one and see if something sticks. Unless he’s sure that would work and is keeping it up his sleeve? Who’s to say?
