The Boston Celtics put a halt to the Raptors momentum and take a commanding 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Just as the Toronto Raptors seemed to develop some momentum in what most anticipated to be a very close series, the Boston Celtics take a commanding 3-2 lead. After a dominant defensive first quarter, the Cs never looked back on their way to a 111-89 game-five victory.
It was the big three of Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown for the shamrocks that led the way with a combined 66 points and a great defensive effort on the guards and wings on Toronto.
The stars of this Boston Celtics team are what we knew would have to carry them if they were poised for a deep playoff run. So far, they have performed and provide a reason for optimism to guys like me who picked them to come out of the east and advance to this year’s NBA Finals.
Lack of three-point shooting has plagued Toronto in this series and tonight was no different as they went 28 percent behind the arc.
Being a transition offense team, many figured they would have to shoot a solid percentage from deep if they were going to have success against a Boston Celtics team who has been great in transition defense all year.
Coming into this series, I always felt the Celts were the better team with the most talent and had a chance to dominate. I did, however, think the Raptors posed some problems for Boston if they were able to take advantage.
Why has Toronto not crashed the offensive glass? A massive hole in the Celtics defense has been to secure the offensive rebound and once again, the Raptors have failed to take advantage.
I blame Nick Nurse for that one.
I mentioned the stars for the Celtics earlier as the difference in this game, as only six players scored in this one. If you were told that before the game, I don’t think many of us would have thought the sixth would be Brad Wanamaker, who came up with 15 points.
I always take a deep breath when I see the second year, experienced point guard enter the game, but tonight he came up big for a bench that needs a breakout scorer. Wanamaker shot an efficient 60 percent from deep and brings a very calm demeanor to the Celtics’ backcourt.
He was a bright spot during this Celtics win and deserves some more national credit as a solid backup point guard.
Game six will be Wednesday night as Beantown looks to close this one out and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals.
My natural instinct is to look forward to the matchup we will see next against the Miami Heat, but I will force myself to focus in on the next game coming in this second-round series.
Toronto needs to start finding something in their half-court offense if they want to take this series to seven games. They continue to rely on below-average 3-point shooters and post-ups with Pascal Siakam, which has made zero sense to me.
They need to start conforming to the C’s form of basketball which is ball pressure on the defensive end and great ball movement on the other. I gave the coaching matchup to Nick Nurse before the series started because of his ability to make adjustments, but he needs to hurry up.
I’ll tell you one thing, I will be locked in and ready to go at 6:30 PM (ET) Wednesday evening. If Brad Wanamaker drops another 15 points I will take a victory lap around my apartment.
Go Celts!