Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors: Atlantic Division Cage Match!
The Boston Celtics come into tonight’s game against their division rivals, the Toronto Raptors, with one goal in mind: keep it close, from start to finish.
See, in their previous two games against the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks, the Celtics trailed by 19 and 26 points heading into halftime, respectively. The fact that Boston made some runs and bit into their opponents’ leads both times – nearly coming all the way back against Dallas, in fact – is commendable . . . but nothing more than that. Spotting your opponent big first half leads is hoop suicide, even if you know the leading team is likely to take its foot off the gas a little bit and let you mount a comeback.
Obviously, the Celtics would like to reverse this trend entirely by taking a lead into halftime tonight, but you have to walk before you learn to run, so the Cs should focus on keeping the Raptors from reeling off any significant runs that would force Rajon Rondo and company into having to enter desperation mode for the third straight game.
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Boston’s recipe for success should not be a secret: pressure the ball and make quick rotations on defense, drive the ball to the rim and find the open shooters on offense. When the Celtics do these things, as they did opening night against Brooklyn and in the second half of Monday’s loss in Dallas, they are entertaining and competitive as hell. When they don’t . . . well, there’s a stack of papers to grade with my name on it that I suddenly have an interest in!
I’m really hoping that head coach Brad Stevens uses even more of the three guard lineup that led the charge against the Mavericks. Rondo knows how to probe the defense and find the open man, and can feast in an up-tempo game that is full of fast breaks and guys slashing to the rim. Meanwhile, Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart showed us a glimpse of the future. When these two guys are on the floor together, you almost feel sorry for the opposing back court. Their defense pushes Boston’s offense into overdrive, and it turns the game into a chaotic, bruising mess that the majority of NBA teams would probably rather not play.
It’s worth pointing out that the Raptors will be playing their second in a back-to-back set of games tonight, and their fourth game in five nights. The team is banged up a bit, as well, with power forward Amir Johnson out and center Jonas Valanciunas doubtful. If Rondo, Bradley and especially Smart can come at Toronto’s dynamic duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozen in waves, never allowing them to feel comfortable setting up on offense, the Celtics might be able to send the Raptors back north, licking their wounds.
The game is set to tip-off in TD Garden at 7:30. Tune into CSN HD or your NBA League Pass subscription, and follow us @houdiniceltics as we watch the game alongside you! It will be the next best thing to having me sitting next to you at your pad . . .and truth be told, you would probably rather follow me on Twitter!
Go Green!