Here are five things to watch out for when the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors meet at 7:30 p.m. tonight at TD Garden.
The Celtics had a nice, brief practice Tuesday afternoon. The Raptors, meanwhile, had to give it everything they had to pull out an overtime victory over the New Orleans Pelicans up in Toronto.
You know what that means: the Celtics have will more gas in their tank than the Raptors when tonight’s contest tips off.
All five of Toronto’s starters logged at least 32 minutes of action Tuesday night, and Kyle Lowry was on the court for nearly 45 minutes. The Raptors then likely had a late night, as they had to make their way through customs and fly to Boston before heading to their hotel via bus.
Sometimes these things don’t matter – for example, the Celtics just won in overtime on the second night of a back-to-back four days ago in Milwaukee – but usually they do. No one knows how tonight’s game will play out, but the C’s certainly have an advantage coming off of a non-game day.
Al Horford returned to the lineup for Monday night’s win over the Pistons and the Celtics may get another starter back in the lineup tonight. Avery Bradley returned to practice Tuesday afternoon after missing 11 of the last 12 games with a sprained right Achilles.
Bradley told reporters that the final decision regarding his availability tonight will be made by the team’s medical staff. In regard to how Tuesday’s return to the practice court went, Bradley commented, “It felt good to be out there again. Still taking it one day at a time, but today did go well.”
Certainly, Boston will be in a much better place if it has its starting shooting guard available. He is a 40.9 percent 3-point shooter and an All-Defensive First Team performer. The C’s need both of those skills tonight against a talented Raptors team.
Toronto head coach Dwane Casey announced ahead of tip-off Tuesday night that All-Star starter DeMar DeRozan would miss Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s action with a sprained right ankle.
DeRozan is a dynamic player who is tied for fifth in the NBA in scoring with an average of 27.8 points per game. He has also averaged 32.5 PPG during two games against the Celtics this season.
Toronto’s top scorer originally injured the ankle Jan. 22 and missed three games before returning to the lineup Jan. 29. Much like Bradley and his one-game return from the Achilles injury, however, DeRozan’s body reacted poorly to his return and he is now unavailable for one of his team’s most important early-season games thus far.
Similar to Monday night, the Celtics will have to deal with a force on the glass tonight. Let’s hope it goes better than it did two nights ago.
Monday’s contest featured a matchup against Andre Drummond, who ranks second in the league with an average of 13.8 rebounds per game. Drummond hauled in 22 boards against the Celtics, including seven at the offensive end, all while scoring 28 points.
Jonas Valanciunas isn’t quite on the same level as Drummond in the rebounding department but he isn’t too far behind. Valanciunas averages 10.1 RPG this season but has averaged 16.5 RPG through two games against Boston, including an average of 6.5 offensive RPG.
The C’s have struggled to protect the glass this season, and they did so again Monday night against Drummond. They cannot afford to give the Raptors extra opportunities tonight as a result of offensive rebounds hauled in by Toronto’s starting center.
Toronto’s grabbed a narrow victory over New Orleans Tuesday night, but the contest featured a continuation of the team’s recent offensive struggles,. The Raptors have lost six of their last eight games as their offense has dropped off dramatically.
As a team, the Raptors shot 47.2 percent from the field and 39.0 percent from 3-point range through their first 41 games of the season. During their last eight games, which have coincided with a drop in the standings, those numbers have dropped down to 42.0 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from long range.
Toronto’s defense has maintained nearly identical numbers during its eight-game rough patch compared to its first 41 games. Its struggles have been a result of decreased shooting percentages. It may be a struggle to alter those trends tonight when the Raptors play on tired legs.
0 comments:
Post a Comment