Celtics vs. Raptors second round playoff series preview
Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire)
August 27th, 2020
Following sweeps by both teams in the quarterfinals, the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors became the first franchises to advance to the semifinal round of the NBA playoffs, held in Orlando.
Boston defeated a beaten-up Sixers squad, as Jayson Tatum averaged 27 points on 48.7% shooting, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in the four games.
The rising star didn’t face much resistance against the 76ers’ porous defense, but the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors will present a more difficult challenge.
Let's dissect the upcoming Celtics vs. Raptors second round playoff series matchup, the odds for the series, their regular-season meetings, and X-factors for both teams.
Celtics-Raptors exact series outcome
| Series outcome | Odds |
|---|
Raptors 4-2 | +425 |
Raptors 4-3 | +450 |
Celtics 4-3 | +500 |
Celtics 4-2 | +500 |
Raptors 4-1 | +500 |
Celtics 4-1 | +700 |
How the Celtics and Raptors reached the semifinals
In addition to Tatum’s success against the Sixers, Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown scored in bunches for the Celtics.
Walker put up 24.3 points per game in the series, on 49.3% shooting from the field. However, his touch behind the arc needed work. He hit just one of his six attempts from three-point land in Game 3 and went 0-4 in the next game.
Brown averaged 21.5 points (on 45% shooting) and 5.8 rebounds.
The Raptors had their way with the Brooklyn Nets, too, and got stellar performances out of Fred VanVleet (30 points, 11 assists in Game 1) and Pascal Siakam (26 points, eight rebounds, five assists in Game 3).
FINAL: Nets 110 Raptors 134
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) August 17, 2020
Raptors cruise past the Nets and thwart their second-half comeback to take Game 1. Fred VanVleet finishes with 30 PTS (8-10 3PT) and 11 AST. Serge Ibaka with 22 PTS and 7 REB. Caris LeVert with 15 PTS and 15 AST. #NBA #Raptors pic.twitter.com/5W4E43OBlm
Kyle Lowry averaged just 12.5 points for the series and only played nine minutes in Game 4, after he sprained his ankle early in the contest.
X-factors in the Celtics-Raptors series
Lowry is considered day-to-day. Without him, the Celtics own the advantage.
Earlier in the season, Lowry scored 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field, 5-of-10 from three-point range, dished out seven assists, and grabbed four rebounds in the Raptors’ only win against Boston.
If Lowry can’t play, the Raptors need VanVleet and Siakam to step up. Both will be crucial to the Raptors' dangerous transition offense, which generated a league-high 18.8 points per game in the regular season. Siakam ranked seventh in the NBA in points scored in transition (5.5 per game).
The Celtics also head into this series shorthanded, without starting forward Gordon Hayward, who scored 12.8 points and averaged seven rebounds across four regular-season games against the Raptors.
Hayward sprained his ankle in Game 2 of the quarterfinals and is expected to be sidelined for the next month.
Marcus Smart has been promoted to the starting lineup as a result, and will offer a boost on defense. The scrappy defender will likely matchup against Lowry or VanVleet in the series.
Marcus Smart: team defense + winning basketball. Two genius-level defense-to-offense plays vs. PHI — off-ball steals as a help defender, with brilliant touches passes leading directly to transition scores: Kemba pull-up 3 in Q3, Jaylen Brown layup in Q4 pic.twitter.com/LpoxWHtqYF
— Brian Geisinger (@bgeis_bird) August 22, 2020
Walker is another player the Celtics need playing at an elite level. Against the Raptors in the regular season, he averaged 22.8 points per game, including a 22-point showing, in which he shot 50% from three-point range in a 118-102 Christmas Day win at Toronto.
Who fared better in the regular-season?
Of the four regular-season matchups Toronto and Boston played, only the first and fourth featured healthy, regular starting lineups.
In the first game, back in October, the Celtics rallied late at home to knock off Toronto, 112-106. In the fourth, which took place in the Orlando bubble, the Celtics drilled Toronto, 122-100, and seven Celtics scored in double digits.
On Christmas Day, Brown went off for 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field, 5-of-7 from three-point range, and added six rebounds and four assists in Boston’s 118-102 away victory.
That game, the Celtics played their usual starting lineup, while Toronto's Marc Gasol and Siakam sat with injuries.
In the Raptors' lone regular-season win against Boston, Patrick McCaw and Serge Ibaka posted 18 and 20 points, respectively, as promoted starters in Toronto’s 113-97 conquest.
In the regular season, the Celtics held the upper hand, but we haven’t seen Boston take on Toronto this year without Hayward.
The uncertainties for both teams even the playing field. Don’t bank on a sweep by either side in this series. This one should go back and forth and potentially all the way to Game 7.