Boston Celtics Blow Tiebreaker to the Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors secured the tiebreaker in a comeback win against the Boston Celtics

The Toronto Raptors were one of the biggest winners at the trade deadline with Serge Ibaka and P.J Tucker, but when it was announced that Kyle Lowry was not going to play, the Boston Celtics were in a great position to increase their lead in the Atlantic Division and, most importantly, tie them in the season series, to perhaps save a tiebreaker if it comes down to it. Just a season ago the Celtics got the short end of a three way tie to end the season, and now they know that has to be avoided with the Raptors.

The Celtics looked like they had the game won when they were up by 16 points, but they continued an all to familiar trend of allowing teams to get back into games. Then, when it came down to it in the fourth quarter, the Celtics simply were not good enough. Isaiah Thomas had one of his worst fourth quarters of the season. The offense was not flowing, and far too many players were forcing things.

DeMar DeRozan carried the Raptors throughout. He continues to play phenomenally against the Celtics, and that is the second time this season he has taken them over in the fourth quarter.

This was the fourth and final meeting between these two teams, and taking three of those games gives the Raptors the tiebreaker on the Celtics. This game meant a little bit more than the average game because of these implications, but they know they still control their destiny.

More from Hardwood Houdini

With Avery Bradley expected to return soon, the Celtics will be fighting to preserve that three game lead in the standings. The Celtics had an opportunity to create a serious cushion between them and the Raptors, and with the new players they just added, the Celtics will have very little room for error the rest of the way.

Catching the Cavaliers is looking almost impossible for any team right now, so the biggest battle in the Eastern Conference is for home court to the conference finals. The Celtics have a slim two game lead on the Wizards. The Celtics know they need to figure out how to close teams out, because they continually put themselves in far too difficult situations by blowing leads.

If the Celtics become more consistent and start closing out these games, they will be able to capture that number two seed. The Celtics have been missing Bradley for a long time, and they better hope there is no rust.

Last time Bradley returned, it was for just one game, and this injury has been looking scarier ever since. The second unit has been a big reason for a lot of their blown leads, and getting Bradley back will put Jaylen Brown back into the second unit. With the way Brown has developed, he and Marcus Smart will be a deadly defensive duo, and will give that unit a lot more stability, preventing a lot of these comebacks.

Next: The Boston Celtics Need to Stay Healthy

The Celtics can still feel great about their offense, but defense will be the key to making sure that they do not need to worry about this tiebreaker against the Raptors. It should be a fun race the rest of way because this could shape up to be about as close as the race for the third seed was last year.

Home/Celtics News