Boston Celtics: 3 keys to victory tonight to take back series lead
By Mark Nilon
Boston Celtics key to victory No. 2) Make 3-pointers, defend 3-pointers
Seemingly throughout this entire series, the 3-point game has played a massive role in each team’s outcome.
During the first two games, the Boston Celtics were shooting lights-outs from downtown, as they shot a combined 42 percent while Toronto only managed to convert on just 26 percent of their attempts.
Games three and four, it appeared the long-range luck had shifted parties, as Toronto has seen themselves shooting 36 percent from deep and had OG’s spectacular last-second 3-pointer thrust them into the win column for the first time this series in game two. In comparison, Boston has only managed to shoot a putrid 25 percent from downtown during this current two-game slide.
The disparity in game-four, specifically, between their conversion rates was astonishing — the Raptors shot nearly 40 percent while Boston only connected on 20 percent of their attempts). Had it not been for their unbelievable conversion rate inside the arc (65 percent) and their solid free-throw shooting (74 percent), Saturday’s game had the makings of a real blowout.
On the season, the Raptors found ample success whilst converting on the perimeter, as they ranked fifth in the NBA shooting at a 37.3 percent clip. If they find themselves stroking it once more, as they did throughout this year’s campaign, winning should come relatively easy to them.
In game-five, Boston needs to find a way to get back to their conversion rates on offense from games one and two while, subsequently, locking in on defense at the perimeter as they did early on as well.