1. Well... that’s more like it! It wasn’t the start to the game Boston wanted, and it got a bit bumpy in the second half, but overall this was a winning formula for the Celtics. The role players did their thing, the bench infused a ton of energy and turned the game around and then Kyrie Irving closed it out. In addition, Brad Stevens seemed to have the nine players he trusts most available to him: Irving, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Morris and Al Horford to open the game, with Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown and Aron Baynes getting all the bench minutes. Some coaches do more with less, and Stevens might be one of those guys. We said in our big picture look, that Stevens might have to make some tough choices on cutting down the rotation, as playing 10-12 guys isn’t feasible. Against Toronto he did and it made all the difference. 2. Above it was mentioned it wasn’t the start the Celtics would have asked for in a big game at home. Boston was sloppy on both ends of the floor and the Raptors got up early and took the crowd out of the game. One of the major culprits was Jayson Tatum, who just seemed off his game. He couldn’t get his offense going and he got beat off the dribble multiple times. Shout out to the many of you that suggested on Twitter that “It’s gotta be the shoes”. Maybe the new kicks needed some breaking in, as Tatum was much better in the second half, especially late in the game. 3. Turnovers were a big part of the early struggles. It was a confounding mixture of guys, primarily Irving, trying to do too much and poor execution. The Celtics threw more bad post-entry passes in the first half of this game than they probably have all season. The team finished with 15 turnovers, but 10 of them came in the first half. It was good to see it get cleaned up after halftime. 4. Last negative, because there were so many positives to close with…It’s well known that Boston likes to switch everything. Often this is mistaken for thinking the team believes all of their players can guard anyone else on the floor. It’s not really that. The real secret to the Celtics defense is that they execute switch-backs and jump-switches better than anyone in the NBA. You’ll regularly see them “scram” (short for scramble) out of a mismatch. But when they can’t execute that strategy, and Toronto is good and smart enough to make it hard to do, the switch everything approach can cost them. We noted in a previous Takeaways, that Stevens’ energy lineup this year has often involved playing Irving, Smart and Rozier together. Smart can obviously guard anyone. But the Raptors ran some sets designed to make sure it was Irving and Rozier for the scram against a big. Both Serge Ibaka and Greg Monroe got easy buckets because Boston couldn’t scram out of the mismatch. 5. Alright…on to the good stuff! The Celtics bench has had a lot of issues this season. Rozier has been moderately awful for most of the season. Hayward is up and down. Brown spent most of the first half of the year looking lost. And non-Baynes bigs are a series of flashes, followed by some truly bad play. Against Toronto the Boston reserves were awesome. Stevens and Horford both credited Rozier and his energy for helping turn the game around. Rozier himself said he chose to pick up full-court on defense as a way to get him and the team going. Hayward carried the offense for a large chunk of the first half. Brown only made two shots, but his energy level was high and his ball pressure on defense was excellent. And Baynes’ return was welcomed by all. He just brings a presence in the paint on both ends. And, of course, Baynes hit a huge three-pointer in the fourth quarter. 6. Hayward looked gassed in the second half, but that was because he came in and played all-out in the first half. He scored 16 of his 18 points before the break, but the surprise was his defense. On this play, Hayward took on Pascal Siakam off the dribble, stoned him, then blocked his turnaround jumper: Your browser does not support HTML5 video. 7. After a quiet first half, Horford came up huge in the second half. He dominated inside, as he score 19 of his 24 points after halftime. To help get him going, Stevens called a set play to get him a layup to open the third quarter: Your browser does not support HTML5 video. 8. On occasion, Horford will catch in the post and the team will let him go to work. But, like most bigs, he’s largely a dependent player to get his points. On the above clip, he benefits from an Irving assist. On this clip, Hayward finds him for the bucket. Because Boston is full of above average passers and ball-movers, Horford being dependent isn’t only just fine, it’s preferred. Also, it’s never, ever, a bad sign when Horford shows emotion after a big play. It’s usually a sign things are going well for the Celtics. Your browser does not support HTML5 video. 9. Ok…one more negative, but only as a teaching moment and a sign of where Tatum can become even more devastating on offense. Because teams have caught on that he’ll happily take long-twos, they’ve started to run Tatum off the arc. On this play, Siakam closes wildly, because he knows Tatum will fake and take the mid-range jumper: Your browser does not support HTML5 video. It’s not the worst shot in the world by any means. But, if for no other reason than adding variety and making the defense have to account for it, it would be nice to see Tatum take the contact on the wild close and get three free throws. Or side-step into a three-pointer if available. Diversity is what makes the best offensive players so great. 10. Kyrie, Kyrie, Kyrie.<doc-sep>7:00PM Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto Broadcast/Streaming: CBC, SN One, City Opponent SBNation Site: Stanley Cup of Chowder The Leafs take on the Boston Bruins for the fourth and final time this season, which provides them with a few months to cool off before their inevitable first-round playoff matchup. Frederik Andersen is expected to miss tonight’s action due to the flu, so Michael Hutchinson will be thrown into one of hockey’s biggest rivalries. Let’s hope he’s ready for a shutout or a goalie fight. Zach Hyman earned a suspension following their last meeting, and Chris Wagner retaliated with a dumb hit on Morgan Rielly. The Bruins won this game 6-3, and are currently up two games to one in the season series. Expected Lines Maple Leafs Forward Lines Andreas Johnsson - Auston Matthews - Kasperi Kapanen Zach Hyman - John Tavares - Mitch Marner Patrick Marleau - Nazem Kadri - William Nylander Par Lindholm - Frederik Gauthier - Connor Brown Defence Pairings Morgan Rielly - Ron Hainsey Jake Gardiner - Nikita Zaitsev Travis Dermott - Igor Ozhiganov Goaltenders Michael Hutchinson Kasimir Kaskisuo Boston Bruins Forward Lines Brad Marchand- Patrice Bergeron- David Pastrnak Jake DeBrusk- David Krejci- David Backes Sean Kuraly- Noel Acciari- Chris Wagner Danton Heinen- Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson- Ryan Donato Defence Pairings Zdeno Chara- Brandon Carlo Torey Krug- John Moore Matt Grzelcyk- Kevan Miller Goaltenders Tuukka Rask Jaroslav Halak Keys To The Game The Leafs carry a clear edge in terms of forward depth, but as we all know, Boston’s first line can score in bunches. Toronto doesn’t have a dominant defence-pairing to matchup against them, and David Pastrnak often takes full-advantage. Shutting down Boston’s top line is the biggest key to tonight’s game, and you don’t want to give this group too many powerplay opportunities. Tonight would be a great time for the Leafs to get their powerplay rolling again. It looks like Auston Matthews will continue to play on William Nylander’s unit, but Mike Babcock has suggested that they could switch back at any moment. Having two strong powerplay units sure worked last season, and I’m interested to see if this can help get Nylander going. Let’s hope Hutchinson plays well, and the Leafs can come away with another victory on home ice. If the Leafs get blown out, look out for dozens of “the sky is falling” articles. I just want to beat Boston.<doc-sep>The talk around Boston lately has been whether Kyrie Irving is getting enough touches late in close games. Well, given the outcome of tonight’s game against the Toronto Raptors, consider those questions answered. Irving was phenomenal (and the Raptors were not) in a closing 17-4 run by the home Celtics, which secured them a 117-108 win over Toronto. The Raptors fall to 33-13 with the loss and a half game back of Milwaukee for tops in the East. Boston improves to 26-18. Once again, the Raptors came into this game missing some key rotation pieces. With OG Anunoby out for personal reasons and C.J. Miles out with a hip injury, the yo-yo effect of starters to bench was even more pronounced. The starters for the Raptors were consistently great. Kawhi Leonard led the way with 33 points on just 19 shots, adding four rebounds and four steals. Serge Ibaka also had a great game, with 22 points and 10 rebounds (five on the offensive glass). Kyle Lowry, despite going 3-for-10 for just 10 points, had an aggressive mindset early on and racked up seven assists. What’s more, Toronto’s starters were engaged and opportunistic on defence. When all five guys were out there, especially with Ibaka at the five, they were able to collapse the lane and get back to shooters relatively efficiently. The Celtics made 46.7% of their threes on the night, but quite a few were under duress. That percentage, on the flip side, was also propped up by the Raptors’ poor bench play. In the second quarter, Toronto was soundly beaten by the Celtics’ bench unit — led by 18 points from Gordon Hayward — as they were beaten 34-17 in the frame. That stretch stung, even though the Raptors made quite a rally in the second half. In the opening quarter, Kawhi got off to a frantic start. He had five of the first seven Raptors points, including a steal and score, to help Toronto jump out to an 18-7 lead. The starters kept the good times going until the media timeout, when they were up 27-19. Changing over to the bench, though, gave Boston life. Nick Nurse decided to stagger Danny Green with the four bench players (Fred VanVleet, Delon Wright, Greg Monroe, and Norm Powell), with fairly poor results. Powell tried to lead the offence, with plays like this dunk in transition. As the game got into the second, though, Boston got it back on the other end, attacking Monroe relentlessly in the paint and taking their first lead at 41-40. Toronto responded by bringing their starters in late, but they were relatively listless in their execution. The Celtics continued to roll and went into halftime up 64-53. In the third, the Raptors’ starters got to chipping away at the lead again. Their defence was stifling and a Kawhi and-one cut the lead to four late in the quarter. When the bench came in, it was Pascal Siakam staggered to join them, which was much more fruitful than Green — Siakam’s activity on defence and passing on offence helped unglue a lineup otherwise nervous to score. In the fourth, the Raptors took the lead back momentarily as Kawhi went sicko mode once again. A stretch of 13 points for Leonard midway through the quarter put the Raptors up by as much as four. Things went completely silent, though, for the last 4:22. The ball stopped moving, off-ball players like Green started to dribble too much, and the Celtics took advantage. Kyrie would make a ridiculous three-pointer from just inside the logo at 1:39 to put Boston up five, essentially icing the game. In a statement game, Irving led the way for Boston, finishing with 27 points and 18 assists for a huge double-double. Al Horford had 24 points on 12 shots in support. These late game execution issues keep popping up for Toronto, who failed to score on five of their last six meaningful possessions (the one make was a crazy Danny Green jumper). Boston, on the other hand, gains a little more confidence that they could compete and win any potential playoff series between these two. With a 2-1 series lead, the last matchup of this rivalry won’t be until February 26. The Raptors have nothing to do but keep their eyes on the future, though. They return home to play the Phoenix Suns tomorrow night.<doc-sep>The Boston Celtics are 0-3 both straight up and against the spread on the NBA odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com in their last three games as they return home to face the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. Boston closed out a three-game road trip Monday with a 109-102 loss to the Brooklyn Nets as 2.5-point betting favorites, marking the club’s third straight defeat as betting chalk going into Wednesday night’s Raptors vs. Celtics betting matchup at TD Garden. Monday’s loss extended the Celtics’ recent woes on the road, where they have won and covered just once in six outings. However, the team’s road struggles have been offset by steady performances at home, where the Celtics have won and covered six straight, with last Wednesday’s 135-108 rout of the Indiana Pacers as 7-point chalk marking their most recent home win. The Celtics also have enjoyed regular success when the Raptors come to town, posting SU wins in four straight meetings with Toronto, capped by a 123-116 victory Nov. 16 as narrow 2-point favorites at sports betting sites. While the OVER prevailed in totals betting in that contest, recent meetings between these two teams at TD Garden have tended to be low-scoring affairs. Boston has limited the Raptors to just 98.8 points per game while taking five of six SU from Toronto, while the total points fell below 200 on three occasions during that stretch, generating a 4-2 run for the UNDER. The Celtics also have seen a dip in point production, averaging just over 101 points per game during this past week’s three-game road trip. But the team has racked up an average of 120 points over six home contests, contributing to an Eastern-leading 14-6 ATS home record. While Kyrie Irving is expected to be on the floor for Wednesday night’s contest, the Celtics still will need to rediscover their scoring touch against a Raptors team that travels to Boston following a 140-138 double-overtime win in Washington as a 5-point favorite Sunday.<doc-sep>
After a 140-138 double OT win in Washington against the Wizards on Sunday, the Toronto Raptors will end their short two-game road trip against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden tonight. Both teams are polar opposites of each other as the Raptors are coming in hot on a five-game win streak while the Celtics have lost three games in a row. Everything seems to be clicking for Toronto (other than injuries) as they look to build on their 33-12 first-place lead. More importantly, the Raptors are starting to get some runs with their usual starters in Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka. Better yet, Toronto is seeing Leonard put together an impressive MVP-type calibre season. Leonard, who won last week’s East’s Player of the Week, is averaging 30.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, five assists, and 3.3 steals per game over that week. He and the team will look to continue their scorching-hot play with a showdown against the Celtics. On the other side of things, Boston is going through some team issues. Just last week against the Miami Heat, forward Marcus Morris and guard Jaylen Brown went back and forth with each other during a timeout, resulting to Morris shoving Brown which led to Morris being held back by his teammates. Jaylen Brown and Marcus Morris had to get separated during a timeout... (via ahubbtho/IG) pic.twitter.com/1EyBZyzvUn — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 11, 2019 That was just the beginning of things spiralling out of control for the Celtics. The C’s found themselves in a close game against the up-and-down Orlando Magic where Boston had the ball to either tie it or win the game. In a play that seemed to be for Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward — who was inbounding the ball — passed to Jayson Tatum instead, who ended up missing the midrange jumper at the buzzer. Irving was a bit frustrated with the result. Understand, based on Kyrie Irving’s reaction, this wasn’t what was supposed to happen, but don’t like the body language from a team leader. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/zPPZqd1u0V — Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) January 13, 2019 Although failing to meet big expectations, it isn’t the end of the world for the Celtics as they are a respectable 25-18 on the year and sit fifth place in the Eastern Conference. However, with things fragile in Boston, and a tough Raptors team coming into town, things may continue to get worse for the Celtics Toronto, meanwhile, looks to avenge last meeting’s 123-116 OT loss exactly two months ago. Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, Fred VanVleet, and Delon Wright all had trouble stopping Irving that night as he poured in 43 points on a ridiculously-efficient 18-for-26 shooting from the field to go along with 11 dimes and three steals. Although the team is firing on all cylinders, stopping Irving is no easy task. We’ll get to that and more with the keys to the game, but first here are the game details: Where to Watch: TSN, 8:00 p.m. EST Lineups: Toronto – Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Serge Ibaka Boston – Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Morris, Al Horford Injuries: Toronto – Jonas Valanciunas (OUT – Dislocated left thumb), OG Anunoby (OUT – Personal), Fred VanVleet (Questionable – Thigh), C.J. Miles (Questionable – Hip) Boston – Marcus Smart (Questionable – Illness), Aron Baynes (Questionable – Right hand) ******** Emphasis on Guards and Wings As mentioned above, the Raptors got burned the last time against the Celtics, mainly by Irving. Toronto didn’t have an answer for every time Irving scored and that may be the same for tonight’s game. Lowry still seems to be working to get into game shape (as a back injury doesn’t magically heal), so putting him on Irving after playing 50(!) minutes against the Wizards may not be the best move. Toronto could hide Lowry by putting Green on Irving, but the Raptors would still have to watch out for Tatum, Hayward, and Brown. With Anunoby out and if VanVleet (who is questionable for tonight) doesn’t play, that will only make it tougher for the Raptors to guard the Celtics’ guards and wings. Stay Out and Close Out on Shooters The Celtics are one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league. For the season, they rank third in three-point makes with 13.1, third in three-point attempts with 36.1 attempts per game, and sixth in three-point percentage as they shoot 36.4 percent per game.