The NBA has these things. If before starting the season they told you that a Raptors vs Celtics was going to be a transcendent duel due to the home court factor in the Eastern Conference, you would have thought it was crazy. But now that we have entered December, the statement could not be more true. Toronto hosts the Celtics growing up having slowed down a bit, but still being one of the teams that have things clearest in the NBA.
Date and time of the Raptors vs Celtics
Date: December 7th.
Time: These are the start times of the Raptors vs Celtics depending on the time zone.
| Spain (peninsular), France and Italy | 21:30 |
| Dominican Republic, USA (Boston, New York and Miami), Puerto Rico and Venezuela | 14:30 |
| Mexico (central), El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua | 7:30 |
| Mexico (Pacific) and USA (Los Angeles) | 9:30 |
| Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay | 15:30 |
| Colombia, Ecuador, USA (Chicago and Texas), Peru and Panama | 11:30 |
Site: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto (Ontario)
Raptors vs. Celtics quintets
RJ Barret will remain out for the Canadians and Immanuel Quickley is a doubt, although they recover Jakob Poeltl. Any day now Jayson Tatum will be back, but that day hasn’t come yet.
| TORONTO RAPTORS | BOSTON CELTICS |
| Immanuel Quickley/Jamal Shead | Payton Pritchard |
| I’m Kobe Walter | Derrick White |
| Brandon Ingram | Jordan Walsh |
| Scottie Barnes | Jaylen Brown |
| Jakob Poeltl | Nehemiah Queta |
Raptors vs Celtics: best bet
On paper, the Raptors should be favorites due to resources, position in the classification and home field. But the Celtics arrive very strong, having won 8 of their last 10 games against a fairly serious schedule.
Breaking news for the Raptors: injuries and form
RJ Barret’s loss will continue to affect them for a few more days and Quickley’s doubt could be critical.
The most surprising team so far this season? There, there with Miami. The thing is that what happens in Toronto is much simpler than Erik Spoelstra’s umpteenth revolution. Basically, the Raptors limit themselves to defending hard with profiles that, within their position, can maintain a high level of intensity for 48 minutes, run when possible and distribute tasks in attack consistently.
When it’s time to attack, Scottie Barnes does everything and the rest does what they know how to do. A simple formula, but one that helps them win games and not stop competing for a single night. Brandon Ingram is the greatest proof that the Canadians don’t lose their rings. The forward, the only All-Star along with Barnes, can have nights of dominance from the mid-range in which the ball passes through his hands a lot. And at the same time, he has no problem executing more from the weak side when the match goes like this.
Player to watch: Scottie Barnes
Overwhelming leap in consistency from Barnes. Not by numbers, but so far this year he is being that profile capable of defending from 1 to 5 that makes winning plays at the back. In attack, the percentages say it all. Barnes has reduced his penetrations to stop running over his game and improve his playmaking. Instead, the improvement in three-point shooting and mid-range shooting (career better percentages even from the free throw) make him the perfect engine for these Raptors. He is not an excessive player in his box scores, but there is nothing that he is not doing remarkably on the court.
Breaking news for the Celtics: injuries and form
Only Jayson Tatum is out.
The Celtics have understood their limitations. They know that they lack interior power and that their defense cannot be maintained for 48 minutes. But he does have tools to build positive partials from behind with the efforts of Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jordan Walsh, Josg Minnot and even Hugo González.
But where they can still be devastating, in part because Brown’s level is perhaps the best of his career, is on offense. They record the most dominant offensive phase in this last stretch of 10 games with an absurd 128 offensive rating. In this segment they have once again been that team that peppers the rivals from outside, although this time the shots are not of the quality that their open 5 allowed them and having 4 notable generators such as Tatum, Brown, Jrue Holiday and White.
Even so, in this stretch they average 16 triples scored with a 40% success rate. And it seems to some extent sustainable. Derrick White has shaken off the rust, returning to a level that puts the Celtics’ starting five already above average.
Player to watch: Jaylen Brown
Brown’s nature has always been to put the team on his back in extreme situations. When he falters, he will always take responsibility, whether it turns out good or bad. And Jaylen has been having trouble all season. His exhibitions from the middle distance are ground gold (he is the player who shoots the most two-pointers per game in the NBA).
Raptors vs Celtics: matchup history
Eleven of the last twelve confrontations have fallen on Boston’s side. This will be the first of the season between the two. The historic, as it could not be otherwise, smiles on the greens 73-43, who also won the only playoff match they have had in history (2020).
Predictions for Raptors vs Celtics
Kevin Durant -25.5 pointsMore than 25 losses in total. Although Barnes has grown a lot in that section, it is clear that the Raptors are missing a point guard and have been one of the teams that loses the most balls. But, if that were not enough and despite the good care of the ball in Boston, Toronto is the second biggest ‘thief’ in the last ten games.
Scottie Barnes over 5/20/5. He is one of the most complete players on the planet and signing 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists would worsen his averages.
Where to watch the Raptors vs Celtics
The match between Toronto Raptors vs Boston Celtics can be seen in Spain through the NBA League Pass subscription.
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