Next Up Toronto

As bad as the Celtics have been so far this year if they beat Toronto Friday night they will only be 2 games back in the loss column. A few more home games could be just what the doctor ordered.

Just winning consistently will solve all our problems!

db

We had a group here saying, this was a fatally flawed team and we needed to make team destroying trades.

We had Brian Scalabrine last night on NBC Sports Boston, saying the game vs Toronto was a must win for playoff seeding.

In the end, we are in November. Lets have some fun people

Toronto has been the Celtics nemesis for several years now.  

They are coming off back to back losses against the Pelicans and the Pistons.  They shot poorly from behind the arc in both those game.  They lost both of those games in their gym which is rare.  Let's take a look at them a little closer.

At a record of 12-3 they sit atop the East and are tied with the GSW for best record.

The transition from DeRozen to Leonard has been pretty seamless.  

They average 116.5 PPG and they allowed 109.1.  Overall a very healthy +7.3 differential.

Their starting 5 includes Siakam PF, Leonard at SF, Lowry at PG, Danny Green at SG and they flip flop the center spot with either Serge Ibaka (9 stats) or Valanciunas (6 starts)  Like so many teams they play small ball.  Like us they want to space the floor and  they shoot the three ball quite a bit at 33.6 per game but only at .339.

We should expect them to start Ibaka like they did in our first meeting.  Did you know that he is averaging a career high in PPG at 17.4 and rebounding at 8.4 which is his second highest total since the 2013-14 season (8.8 rebounds)  He is strong on the offensive glass and shoots a very high percentage of 2 pointers but poor from deep.  He is also a very physical defenders and leads their team in block shots.

The one guy that has been a Celtics killer is Kyle Lowry.  He is 3rd on their team averaging 16.1 PPG on 11 shots but what really pops off the page is his 10.7 assists per game.  He has never average more than 7.4.  He has become more of a distributor than a scorer but as we all know he can get red hot in a NY minute.  More than half of his shots are from deep but he can also take you off the dribble.

Danny Green came over in the trade from the Spurs.  He is a journeyman.  He can be looked at as a designated shooter as his 7.4 FGA include 5.5 from deep.  

Siakam is their PF and he has been developing into a pretty good player.  He can score but is not a deep threat but he is quick and will get baskets in close and he is a decent rebounder .

This brings us to the ultimate go-to guy in Kawai.  He is their leading scorer at 24 PPG and can score from all three levels.  He is also their best on the ball defender, solid rebounder, passer, etc.  

Like Boston, the raptors make great use of their bench.   Anunoby (SF), Van fleet PG and Valancuas are the main rotation guys but they have a 3rd layer of depth in CJ Miles, Norman Powell and Delon Wright.

As you can see they have a lot of depth.  They play very well together and have a high degree of confidence.

Keys to the game

The Celtics need to avoid turnovers  They need to win the battle on the glass where they are ranked 9th and we are ranked 10th.

Toronto is not a great 3 point shooting team but they will make open shots so like every game these days, closing out on the perimeter is a must.

They put up 91 shots per game to our 87.  All things being equal the team that takes the most shots has an advantage.

They are 3rd in fast break points so turnovers especially up top will lead to easy runouts by them.  The Celtics have a better A/TO ratio than they do.

Toronto is 14th in the league in defending the 3 so Boston needs to take advantage of that.  They are 2nd in the league behind the Bucks in their 2P %.  We are only 28th.  They will drive the ball on you if overplay up top.  Defensively Boston must do a better job defending the dribble penetration not just individually but also collectively.

The Celtics need to send a clear message that they are going to challenge all year for control over the Eastern Conference.  What better way to do that than knock the raptors off.  This will be a very difficult game because Toronto is coming off of BTB losses and will likely come to town with focus.

All good things must come to an end. A 3-game losing streak will get TOR questioning everything just as we and the press have picked BOS apart over the last road trip. (Both playoff bound teams they lost to...hmmmm. Sounds familiar.) Besides, this will need to be an early statement game for BOS as dboss points out. If we lose, then we have to listen to another two weeks of what's wrong with the Celtics bs. So, it's simple...just WIN!!

db

I forgot to point out that Boston needs to attack the paint.  In the first meeting Toronto held the edge 46-34 and benefited from an expected advantage at the line 14-19.  We shot 7-10.

The Celtics simply have to even things up in the paint.  It will be virtually impossible to win with the deficiency in this area.  

I think this falls on Coach Stevens.  The screens that are being set are primarily designed to open up three point shots.  Very few screens and plays are being run that allows the Celtics to attack.  Few back cuts screens and few that are designed for guys to curl around the screen and drive to the hoop.

Just for the record, Boston is dead last in Points in the paint at 37.6 per game and 28th in FTA.

They need to keep searching out mismatches in the paint for guys like Brown.  

We have guys that can take their man off the dribble but that is not a designed play.  That is just ISO basketball. We simply need more and better screens.