Lewenberg: Boston Celtics hands over Toronto Raptor’s first restart loss in potential playoff preview

TORONTO – In their 25-year history, there have only been four Eastern Conference teams that the Toronto Raptors haven’t faced in the playoffs.

Given the hostility between the clubs and their fan base, and the competitiveness of both organizations over the past decade, it is surprising to see the Boston Celtics on this list.

That could change by the end of the month, and if it does, expect the matchup to be a lot more fun than it was on Friday night.

In a possible round two preview, the Celtics gave Toronto the first reboot loss – and the first since March 1 – with a convincing wire-to-wire win of 122-100.

The Raptors hit a perfect 3-0 record and boasted the best defense in the league in the NBA bubble. While they fell behind early on, the style of play was likely to be to their liking. The first quarter was a dirty, low-scoring defensive slog – the kind of game the defending champions usually do well.

They couldn’t get a shot, but they looked good, and most importantly, Boston didn’t hit anything. But the Celtics’ defenses grew stronger as the game progressed. The raptors’ appearance kept getting worse, and with it their frustration grew.

They were unrecognizable until the second quarter. The ball wasn’t moving, they were out of sync and eventually they stopped defending at the level we’re used to from them.

A Toronto team that had the Lakers, Heat and Magic averaged 98.0 points on shots below 40 percent, dropped 122 points and allowed the Celtics to shoot 49 percent.

“We just weren’t in a very good mood, very much [good] Energy, “said head coach Nick Nurse.” It was hard to score. It was one of those nights. We had [18 three-point attempts] in the first half and I’m trying to figure out which ones I didn’t want us to take. There could have been one we had to hand over [at the end of the] Shot clock. The rest of them were pretty good, and I think we hurt that we didn’t knock any of them down. It got us a little discouraged. “

Little was at stake for the Raptors, who only needed a win or a Celtics loss to finish second in the Eastern Conference. They could have done it on Friday and it would have been fitting to face the team that was chasing them. But apart from disasters, they know exactly where to finish. They also don’t have much left to prove until the playoffs begin on August 17th.

The Celtics, who have already suffered heavy losses against Milwaukee and an understaffed Miami club at Disney, played like a team ready to make a statement.

“I saw something that said we were the last team or one of the last teams on defense in the bubble and that’s just unacceptable to us with the elite defenders that we have on that team and then just together with our identity and who we want to be, “said Celtic’s all-star striker Jayson Tatumwho scored 18 points on Friday. “We have to be more proud of that. Today was a good step in the right direction.”

Boston did a great job of smothering the raptors in half the square and keeping them from crossing where they really thrive, especially on nights when their shots aren’t going to be fired. Jaylen Brown scored a game high of 20 points, but his best work came on the other end of the floor when the main defender came on Pascal Siakamwho only got 11 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Daniel Theis and the Boston Bigs neutralized each other Marc Gasol and Serge Ibakawho together scored eight points on the 4-of-15. Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet were solid but calm and OG Anunoby was a non-factor.

The Raptors got out of halftime and took a short run, reducing their deficit to 10, but the Celtics quickly completed it.

“I think they did a great job,” he said Norman Powellwho got 11 points from the bench. “They have a lot of pop, they came out very aggressive defensively at the beginning and if you come out with aggressive things flowing for you offensively, they gained their confidence early in the game.”

It was a major win for the Celtics, who only need one more win or one loss in Miami to finish third and start a likely matchup against Toronto in the second round. First, they’ll have to get past Philadelphia or Indiana – some tough teams battling for fifth and sixth place – while the Raptors in Brooklyn or Orlando will likely win a far cheaper opponent in the opening round, which could be a huge advantage in the.

The first time these two teams compete in a seven-game playoff series, it should be far more intriguing than the four-game regular season suggests.

The Celtics won three of these meetings – the first on October 25th and the second on Christmas Day, with Toronto missing Siakam, Gasol and Powell. Even with the Raptors’ only victory, which came three days later, they weren’t entirely healthy.

At best, this matchup has it all – a few hard-playing, well-trained teams with deep rosters and a good mix of young people and savvy vets, both led by experienced point guards in Lowry and Lowry Kemba Walkeras well as budding superstars in Siakam and Tatum.

Friday’s game, which aired nationwide on TNT, certainly didn’t show that, but the Raptors aren’t concerned. After starting the season 5-12 against teams over 500, they had eight of their last 10 before falling to Boston.

If nothing else, they definitely didn’t flip their hand too soon.

“A funky little game for us as a whole,” Powell said. “But one thing about this team is that we always jump back and always stick together so I don’t worry.”

“I hate to say it, I haven’t really learned anything [from the game]”Said the nurse.” The only thing I’ve probably learned is that we have to get a few of our guys to play a little better. I’m not worried about some of the main guys, but there are a few guys who need that. “Playing a little better since the restart and I’m glad we have four left [seeding] Games to get them working and give them that chance. I’m not worried about their work ethic, their conditioning, or any of these things. I just need to make them a little more confident and let things go a little better. “