Boston Celtics: 2 teams the C’s would love to avoid in the first round

Potential Boston Celtics opponent No. 2) Toronto Raptors

Toronto could definitely give Boston a scare in the first round.

Talent for talent, the C’s have the two best players in this hypothetical series in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Toronto has some really great players as well, with Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and a rookie of the year candidate in Scottie Barnes leading the way.

Toronto should be a team Boston should want to avoid for two reasons.

First, the Raptors are a division rival. These two face off four times each year, and have a sort of a “mini rivalry” because of it.

Dating back since the LeBron-led Cavaliers days, it was always the Celtics and Raptors who fought for being the second-best threat in the east. Their rivalry was created by default.

Then, during the 2018-19 season, Toronto won the title. In the 2020 bubble, the C’s got the better of the Raptors and beat them in a hard-fought seven-game series.

The history between these two would be an absolute dog fight.

Second, Toronto can cause a mismatch in the interior. The Raps got the better of Boston in their last regular-season matchup, beating them 115-112.

A large part of their victory was from the heroics of Pascal Siakam, who scored 40 points and added 13 rebounds.

Boston had no answer for him in that game.

The Raptors can force the ball inside and take advantage of the gap that the C’s have with no Robert Williams, similar to how the Nets could beat them.

The Boston Celtics should try their best to avoid both of these teams in the first round.