forwards (rookie Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam) are
coming in as underdogs. Siakam just made his season debut, scoring 15 in
25 minutes.
Toronto lost by 13 to the Nets in their last outing. It’s been a
season of streaks for the Raptors, having won five straight and now
having lost two in a row. They’ll face a Jaylen Brown-less Celtics.
The Cs will undoubtedly depend on G Dennis Schroder and SF Jayson
Tatum. Tatum is averaging 23.6 points per game yet is shooting under 40
percent from the field.
The Raptors are on a two-game skid entering this contest. The
Brooklyn Nets handed them their latest defeat by a 116-103 margin.
Meanwhile, the Celtics saw their two-game winning streak come to a halt
in a 107-104 defeat against the Dallas Mavericks in their last game.
Toronto Raptors vs Boston Celtics
Wednesday, November 10th; 7:30 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA.
The Toronto Raptors got off to a decent start this season, despite
the absence of star man Pascal Siakam for the first ten games of the
campaign. They have a winning percentage above .500, and will be eager
to keep it that way by beating the Celtics.
For that to happen, Toronto will need to make a good start, and make
it count. They failed to do so against the Brooklyn Nets in their last
outing. Nick Nurse’s side led 60-53 at half-time, but went off the boil
in the second half, getting outscored 43-63. The Raptors made just seven
three-point field goals during the game.
Point guard Fred VanVleet recorded a team-high 21 points for the
Toronto Raptors, while OG Anunoby scored 16. Pascal Siakam also had a
decent performance on his season debut, registering 15 points and two
blocks on five of 12 shooting from the floor.
Scottie Barnes has been key in helping the Toronto Raptors register
six wins in their first 11 games of the season so far. He has been one
of the most impactful rookies this season.
Barnes is averaging 16.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He has
impacted the game at both ends of the floor, and look to do that against
the Boston Celtics too.
Apart from influencing the game with his scoring, Barnes will also
have to take up the responsibility of guarding Jayson Tatum. He is
likely to be the focal point of the C’s offense, so limiting him would
be key for the Raptors winning the game.
The Boston Celtics have been struggling with their offense in the
last few games. They are averaging 97 points per game across their last
three outings.
The Celtics did well to reduce a 19-point deficit against the Dallas
Mavericks in their previous game. However, they couldn’t overturn it,
and ended up losing the contest. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics’ charge
with 32 points on 63.2% field goal shooting in the absence of Jaylen
Brown. Meanwhile, Dennis Schroder was the only other player to score at
least 20 points on the night for the team.
The Boston Celtics need a better contribution from their bench. They
had just 15 points coming from their reserves against the Mavs. The
Celtics have been solid defensively, but will have to make sure they do
not record a second consecutive loss.
Jayson Tatum has struggled to perform consistently for the Boston
Celtics so far. He is averaging 23.6 points on just 39% field-goal
shooting across ten games. Tatum, nevertheless, had an efficient outing
against the Mavs. If he manages to carry that momentum onto this game,
the Raptors could find it difficult to come away with a win.
Tatum is also the most efficient scorer in the team right now. With
Jaylen Brown out, Tatum ought to produce the goods if the C’s wish to
beat the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors will have a psychological advantage, though, thanks to
their 113-85 blowout win they recorded when the two sides met for the
first time this season. The Raptors have only gotten better since then,
especially with Pascal Siakam’s return from injury.
The Celtics, meanwhile, will be without their top scorer Jaylen
Brown, which could make it difficult for them to beat the Raptors.
Wednesday marks the beginning of a tough stretch for the Toronto Raptors.
Following their loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, the Raptors play
eight of their next nine games on the road, starting with a showdown
against the Celtics in Boston.
It marks the second meeting between the Raptors and Celtics so far
this season. In their first matchup, the Raptors cruised to a 32-point
victory behind a balanced attack that saw six players score in double
figures. Rookie Scottie Barnes led the way with 25 points and 13
rebounds, his first career double-double.
