The Raptors, led by a trio of ultra-talented 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.
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The Toronto Raptors will visit the TD Garden on Wednesday to take on the Boston Celtics in an exciting 2021-22 NBA game.
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.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, they’ll be without Jaylen Brown against the Raptors, as the team announced that the one-time All-Star will miss between one and two weeks with a hamstring strain. Brown has gotten 2021-22 off to a hot start with averages of 25.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists through eight games.