The Boston Celtics look to take down the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night, who are currently chasing the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Watch with us!
The NBA All-Star break is in the rearview, and the race to the top of the Eastern Conference is on for the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors.
Currently sitting at fifth in the East, moving up even a spot would be the difference of home-court advantage in the opening round.
As it stands, the Celtics are slated to match up against the Philadelphia 76ers, an undesirable matchup given the additions Philly made to its starting lineup at the NBA Trade Deadline.
If the bottom quarter of the bracket remained as it is now, they would face the Brooklyn Nets in the first round if they can leapfrog Philadelphia and the Indiana Pacers in the standings.
Standing in their way on Tuesday night are the new-look Toronto Raptors, who added Marc Gasol at the trade deadline and Jeremy Lin in the buyout market.
Gasol, a premier big man in the NBA, might be a better matchup for the likes of Al Horford than Serge Ibaka or Jonas Valanciunas were previously.
Jeremy Lin adds to the depth of the Raptors bench and will provide a layer of sharpshooting that prevents the Celtics from sagging off the perimeter. The Raptors, before the break, already took the seventh-most threes in the league, but only hit them at a 34.6 percent rate, 22nd in the league. Lin helps that struggle.
They also recently signed Jodie Meeks to a 10-day contract.
The Raptors sport a strong defense anchored by Kawhi Leonard. They are third best in the league in deflections per game with 15.2. The Celtics aren’t too far behind with 14.2 per game.
Despite both teams coming off of rather uncharacteristic losses, this matchup has the potential to be an Eastern Conference Championship preview, so the Tuesday night game is one that fans are excited for. FanSided is equally excited and ready to break down the action as we watch along with you!
Mark Carman, Jasmyn Wimbish, and Josh Wilson will be with you to provide analysis, commentary, reaction and updates from around the league as the game goes along!
Join us live during the game and chime in on Periscope, Facebook Live or YouTube Live! Leave comments, we’re hoping to discuss the game with you all, take questions, and overall just have a good time.
You can stream the game on Fubo.tv and have us with you for your second-screen experience.
Live stream with FanSided (begins at tip-off)
Injury report (as of 1:30pm EST)
Aron Baynes is listed as out with a left foot contusion.
For the Raptors, Fred VanVleet is listed as out (thumb ligament).
How the teams stack up
- Celtics Record: 37-23 (8.5 games back in EC)
- Raptors Record: 44-17 (2 games back in EC)
- Pace: Celtics 99.3, Raptors 100.3
- ORTG: Celtics 112.8, Raptors 113
- DRTG: Celtics 106.8, Raptors 107.4
This should be a huge game for the Celtics who have performed well against the Raptors so far this season.