The Boston Celtics took a massive lead over the Toronto Raptors in the first half, but as soon as the shots stopped falling, they gave it all back due to poor transition defense. That was the story on Sunday night as Toronto fought all the way back from down 23 points. Boston failed to slow them down in transition, and it turned what once was a blowout into a clutch contest.
In the first half, the Celtics were red-hot from deep, but once they cooled off, Toronto’s fast-paced offense took advantage of every opening it could. Brandon Ingram got hot from the mid-range, Jamal Shead ran in transition, and Boston did not handle the pressure well.
The result was a thrilling contest in Toronto.
Raptors' transition attack hurt the Celtics in Toronto
This isn’t the first time poor transition defense has hurt the Celtics this year, either. It was a similar story in Boston’s loss to the Utah Jazz earlier this season.
The Celtics were up by as many as 14 points, but when the shots stopped falling, the Jazz were able to get out in transition and find easy looks because Boston struggled to get back and set up their defense.
Much like that game, when Boston was defending in the half-court against the Raptors, they were great. They got six steals and six blocks in the first half alone, utilizing their swarming defense.
But as soon as they were forced to scramble because of their relative lack of shot-making, they couldn’t keep up. Toronto was able to find weak points, whether it be guys who were on their back heels or guys who were turned around. They took advantage of the Celtics.
Shead, in particular, was an absolute blur in transition. The Celtics gave up bucket after bucket, and his speed was a force to be reckoned with.
And since the Raptors’ success in transition led to some easy buckets for them, it forced Boston’s offense to go up against a set defense time and time again, which hurt their offensive production significantly.
All the easy buckets that came as a result of Boston’s turnovers were gone, replaced by tough looks against a long, fast Raptors defense that was able to set itself up.
It’s a problem that this year’s Celtics will likely continue to deal with, as they don’t have the overall talent to take and make as many tough shots anymore. Plus, their overall defense is very particular in the half-court, so when it gets disrupted by transition chances, things get dicey.
As the season goes on, it’s an issue they will have to continue to face. Luckily, in Toronto, some tough shot-making from Derrick White and Payton Pritchard was able to stop the bleeding a bit.