Boston Celtics a Mess in Loss to Toronto Raptors

The Boston Celtics followed up a strong performance against the Philadelphia 76ers with a disastrous performance against the Toronto Raptors.

Neither team looked strong during the first half as they both depended too heavily on free throws to have any offensive success. The Celtics had a strong start on the defensive end but never managed to get any separation because of poor offensive play.

The Celtics had no flow, easy misses and poor shooting. Evan Turner had a typical bad Evan Turner game and there was nobody to make up for it.

Any offensive success for the Celtics was a result of strong transition play off of a turnover but that was no where near enough to account for the Raptors who took off in the second half. The moment the Raptors started hitting difficult shots they ran away with the game.

Terrance Ross found his zone, DeMarre Carroll was continually left wide open and DeMar DeRozan did work at the free throw line and started hitting shots in the second half. DeRozan was a phenomenal 12-14 from the free throw line and that was just a portion of their 30 made free throw attempts.

The Celtics got their share of whistles but they never managed to start hitting the shots that the Raptors were knocking down in the second half.

Isaiah Thomas got his with 25 points and 7 assists but that was no where near enough to make up for an absolutely disastrous shooting game. An overall shooting percentage of 37.6% was topped only by their 26.9% from beyond the arc. The Celtics put up a respectable 103 points but 32 of those were at the free throw line.

Oct 28, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas (4) controls the ball during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden. The Boston Celtics won 112-95. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Amir Johnson and Jared Sullinger had efficient games but were no where near involved enough to make the difference. Neither of them missed a shot but they combined for just 17 points. Tyler Zeller was the only starter to shoot above 50% and he played a lowly 16 minutes during the game. Zeller was certainly improved from his first game but is still lacking any true impact on either end of the court.

The Celtics were also scorched on the boards against a team that is not known for their size. They lost the rebounding battle 53 to 38 and Johnson led the way for the Celtics with just 8 boards.

The Celtics lacked the kind of flow and movement that Brad Stevens’ offense is known for and 113 points against is clearly unacceptable in every way imaginable. Offensively and defensively the Celtics simply have to be better if they are going to compete for a division title.

The lone bright spot in the game was the transition offense created by defense. The Celtics could not stop the Raptors in the second half and fouled way too much in the first half but they still managed to force 21 turnovers, 14 of which were steals. The Celtics did not finish great in transition but they generated some of their best offense in that phase of the game.

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The Celtics have a daunting task with the San Antonio Spurs up next on the schedule and if they have a repeat performance they will be helpless and will have to deal with a much larger deficit than just 10 points.

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