Boston Celtics: 3 keys to victory tonight to take back series lead
By Mark Nilon
Boston Celtics key to victory No. 1) Restrict Toronto’s second-chance points
Though the Boston Celtics actually ended up winning the rebounding battle, accumulating 53 in comparison to Toronto’s 52, they were completely out-hustled when it came to second-chance points Saturday, as they ceded to the Raptors in the second-chance department.
Behind the excellent rebounding of Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and Serge Ibaka, and the restless on-ball defense throughout, Toronto managed to score a whopping 24 second-chance points in their game-four victory.
Far too often did we see the likes of OG Anonoby and Lowry manage to box out Boston’s bigs Daniel Theis, Robert Williams, and Grant Williams.
The Raptors, throughout, just seemed to have that passion to want this game more, which had them in the driver’s seat for the majority of the exhibition.
The Celtics need to be aggressive in attaining rebounds and holding onto them, otherwise the Raptors’ scrappiness will shine through once more and likely will have them leading in this pivotal second-chance category once more.
Should this happen, and the Raps excel in racking up these stoppable points, it’ll be a long night once again for the shamrocks.