3 Studs, 3 duds from Celtics 115-111 preseason win over Raptors

BOSTON — In their final preseason game at TD Garden this season, the Boston Celtics absolutely clobbered the Toronto Raptors (until the fourth quarter). Scottie Barnes looked invisible as his squad endured a beatdown at the hands of a Boston team that benched Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Xavier Tillman.

Boston earned a 115-111 victory as their bench guys and potential G Leaguers enjoyed some extended run. The Raptors pulled things back in the fourth, but for most of the night, Boston dominated. The Celtics will head to Toronto on Tuesday night for a home-and-home against the Raptors, who will certainly be hoping for a different result in that one. But with Horford already confirmed to be playing, they might run into an even better version of the Celtics.

Here are three studs and three duds from the Celtics’ preseason blowout win over the Raptors on Sunday night.

Note: Payton Pritchard was the best player on the floor in this game. He was too good for this studs and duds list—the King Stud if you will. For the sake of highlighting other players who won’t play as much during the regular season, he was left off the list.

Stud - Jordan Walsh

From the moment the game tipped off, Jordan Walsh was awesome, and it wasn’t all visible in the box score. Sure, he nailed his shots, grabbed some rebounds, and found Lonnie Walker IV for a three. But it was less about the stats themselves and more about how he accrued them.

Walsh’s and-one bucket in the first quarter was a result of a quick off-ball cut. His rebounds were pure hustle and positioning. His assist came off an offensive board, and he zipped the ball past multiple defenders. Defensively, he was constantly talking, pointing, moving, and communicating with his teammates. And he looks as confident as ever in his three-point shot.

The 20-year-old who played in Summer League is gone. This is an entirely new version of Walsh. Everything about his game looks smoother, more purposeful, and more confident.

He finished the game with 16 points, 10 rebounds, one assist, and one steal while shooting 6-of-12 from the floor and 1-of-4 from deep.

This is the type of performance Boston should want to see from Walsh as he continues to develop.

Dud - Baylor Scheierman

The rookie just can’t catch a break. For the second preseason game in a row, Baylor Scheierman finds his way onto the duds list. He just hasn’t found anything close to a rhythm in the preseason.

Every shot he takes looks awkward, and he always looks like he’s scrambling to get into the right position. The speed of the NBA looks like it’s a bit too much for him right now. On Sunday, he shot 0-of-6 from the floor, including 0-of-5 from three-point range.

A year in Maine should be very helpful for Brad Stevens’ first first-round pick.

Stud - Lonnie Walker IV

After a rough two-game stint in Abu Dhabi, Lonnie Walker IV completely turned things around. Saturday night against the Philadelphia 76ers, he showed off his playmaking, and on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors, he was an absolute bucket.

In Boston’s two games against the Denver Nuggets, it looked like Walker was trying to force the issue, but that wasn’t the case on Sunday. He played within the flow of the offense, let the shots come to him, and was rewarded because of it. Walker ended the night with 20 points and one assist while shooting 8-of-15 from the floor and 4-of-9 from deep.

Though it’s still unlikely that Walker makes Boston’s regular-season roster, he has put himself in a great position to earn a contract from another squad. Or, at the very least, be a top player in Maine.

Dud - Dmytro Skapintsev

The Celtics brought in Dmytro Skapintsev via a G League trade with the Westchester Knicks. Unfortunately, he’s been very unproductive in his preseason minutes with the team.

Skapintsev is a massive presence around the rim, and he’s recorded a couple of fun blocks, but he’s very immobile. He struggles with his positioning at times and gets burnt by quicker perimeter players. Offensively, his touch around the basket needs serious work, and as the game speeds up, he struggles to adjust. And on top of that, he’s not a great rebounder for his size (7-foot-1).

There should definitely be a spot for him in Maine this year, especially since Kylor Kelley is no longer with the team, but he doesn’t look like a guy who could fight for a contract in Boston in the near future.

Stud - Drew Peterson

Last year, Drew Peterson joined the team mid-way through the season on a two-way contract. Over the summer, he put on some muscle, and now he’s back in town on another two-way. He looked great on Sunday night.

When he joined the team last year, he looked like a three-point specialist, but he’s proven to be so much more. Both in Abu Dhabi and on Sunday night against the Raptors, Peterson flashed some impressive creation skills, putting the ball on the floor and making plays for himself.

His stats were great (23 points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal, 6/9 FG, 3/5 3PT), but his fluidity, comfortability, and hustle on both ends stood out above all else. Peterson has the talent to compete for a roster spot within the next year or two.

Dud - The Raptors

This was an outright embarrassing game for the Raptors. They started Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, and Davion Mitchell (one of whom was an All-Star last year) and got trounced by the Celtics, who benched their entire starting lineup.

Pritchard made them look like a G League squad, and even when they found a little momentum, they lost it by making silly mistakes. They fouled at the end of quarters, threw the ball off their teammates, and got destroyed in the pick-and-roll. Their training camp guys pulled them back a bit in the final frame, but it was still an ugly, ugly evening for the Toronto players who are going to help lead this team in the regular season.

It could end up being a very long year for Toronto.