Boston Celtics (41-16) at Toronto Raptors (18-39) game No. 58 25.02.25

The Celtics visit the Toronto Raptors for the 4th and last meet between these two teams this season. The Celtics are 2: 1 in the 3 games so far. The Celtics won both games in Boston and lost an ugly raptors team against a short raptors in the last game in Toronto. The Celtics won the series 4-0 last season. The Celtics are 72-43 against the raptors. You are 28-29 in Games in Toronto.

This is the first of Backo -Back games for the Celtics. You will travel to Detroit on Wednesday for the 2nd half of the Backto -Back Set. The Celtics are 6-2 on the first night of back-to-back games and they are 3-1 when the first game is on the move. The raptors also play in the first of Backto -Back. They are 2-8 on the first night of the back-to-back games and will play in Indiana on Wednesday.

The raptors changed their roster with Free Agent Signing, Trades and the Design in this low season. They signed Immanuel Quickley, Garrett Temple, Bruno Fernando and Jamison Battle as free agents. They exchanged Jalen McDaniels against Davion Mitchell. They designed Ulrich Chomche (57), Jamal Sheed (45), Jonathan Mogbo (31) and Ja’Kobe Walter (19).

They lost Jordan Nwora, Gary Trent, JR and Malik Williams to the Free Agency. They published Bruno Fernando at the closing of the trade. They also exchanged the former Celtic Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown, JR, against New Orleans against Brandon Ingram. They also exchanged Davion Mitchell against PJ Tucker against Miami, who is not in a team and did not play for the team. They also exchanged against James Wiseman, who was lifted.

The Celtics are in the east, 6 games behind first place Cleveland Cavaliers who won their last 7 games. You are now 4 games before the 3rd place after the Celtics hit you on Sunday. The Celtics are 23-6 on the street. You are 9-1 in your last 10 games. They are 30-9 against teams of the Eastern Conference and 9-2 against the Atlantic Division. The Celtics won their last 5 games.

The raptors are 13th in the east, 29 games behind first place Cleveland. They are 13 games behind the 6th place Detroit, 4 games behind the 10th place Chicago and 2.5 games behind the 12th place Philadelphia. You are 3 games in front of 14th place Charlotte. They are 13-18 at home and 3-7 in their last 10 games. They are 11-25 against opponents of the Eastern Conference and 4-7 against teams of the Atlantic Division. They achieve a victory in their last game.

The Celtics started the last route after the All Star Break with a 20 -point victory in Philadelphia before returning home to beat the Knicks at 13. After this game in Toronto you will play in Detroit in Backto -Back. You then have a 7 -game home stand against Cleveland, Denver, Portland, Philadelphia, La Lakers, Utah and Oklahoma City. After the 7 home games, they play 8 of the next 9 games on the street, including another trip to the west.

The Celtics have 5 players in the injury report. The good news is that Neemias Queta, who missed the last game with an illness, and Xavier Tillman, who missed the last 3 games with the knee inflammation, are likely to be listed. Because the Celtics play in Backto -Back play. Jrue Holiday is for calm and Al Horford (toe) is questionable. Luke Kornet is out for personal reasons. I do not expect AL to play and go out with Kornet, I will assume that Sam Hauser has the start.

Gradey Dick (thigh) is likely for the raptors. Jakob Poeltl has missed the last 7 games with a hip injury, but is classified as questionable for this game. The New Raptor, Brandon Ingram, is not yet appropriate for his new team and remains outside with an ankle injury. PJ Tucker is not in a team and has not yet been suitable for the raptors. The two -way player Ulrich Chomche (knee) also failed.

Probable Celtics starters

Network view

Celtics reserves
Payton Pritchard
Baylor Scheierman
Jordan Walsh
Torrey Craig
Xavier Tillman
Neemias queta

2 ways players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson

Injuries/off
Xavier Tillman (knee) probably
Neemias queta (illness) probably
Al Horford (toes) questionable
Jrue Holiday (calm) out
Luke Kornet (personally) out

Head coach
Joe Mazzulla

Probable raptors starter

Network view

Raptors reserves
Ochai Agbaji
Jamison battle
Chris Boucher
Jonathan Mogbo
Jared Rhoden (10 days)
Jamal Shad
Garrett temple
Yes’kobe Walker

2 ways players
Ulrich Chomche
AJ Lawson
Orlando Robinson

Injuries/off
Grady Dick (thigh) Probably
Jakob Poeltl (hip) questionable
Ulrich Chomche (knee) out
Brandon Ingram (ankle) out
PJ Tucker (not injury -related)

Head coach
Darko Rajakovic

Key Matchups

Network view

• 

  Sam Hauser
  
  

  Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
  

• 

  RJ Barrett
  
  

  Photo by Adam Pantozzi/Nbae about Getty Images
  

Sam Hauser against RJ Barrett
Barrett scored an average of 21.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. It shoots 47.6% from the field and 36.2% from the bow. In the 2 games against the Celtics this season, Barrett scored an average of 23.5 points, 10 rebounds, 11.5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block per game, while he shot 44.4% off the field and 25.3% .

Network view

• 

  Jayson Tatum
  
  

  Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
  

• 

  Scottie Barmes
  
  

  Photo by Jordan Jones/Nbae about Getty Images
  

Jayson Tatum against Scottie Barnes
Barnes achieved an average of 19.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. It shoots 47.6% from the field and 27% from the bow. In 2 games against the Celtics this season, Barnes scored an average of 17 points 8 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, while he was 42.9% from the field and 15.4% of beyond the Bogen shot. Jayson Tatum has been playing very well since the break and hopefully this continues in this game.

Key to the game
defense – Defense will always be the key to win. If the Celtics hope to win the championship again this season, it must first be in defense. The Celtics are able to lock teams with a choking defense, but have to take the trouble. So far, they have sometimes released this kind of effort this season and have subsided at other times. They were the first in the regular season and in the defense playoffs last season. The Celtics are currently 5. With a defensive rating of 109.6. The raptors are 25. With a defense assessment of 115.6. The Celtics allowed the raptors to shoot 50.6% from the field against the raptors in January. In this case you have to tighten your defense if you want to win.

rebound – The back bouncer is the second of the defense as the key to winning. The raptors are 19. With 43.9 rebounds per game, while the Celtics occupy the 8th place with 45.3 rebounds per game. Last season the Celtics took second place and pulled 46.3 rebounds per game. Back rush is very important to limit baskets of the second chance and fast breaks. The raptors are 13. With 14.5 second chance points per game. Much of the back bum is effort and hustle and bustle. The Celtics 56-45 were recovered in their defeat against the Raptors in January. The Celtics have to make more efforts to hit the raptors on a rebound in it.

Undesign – Some of the Celtics losses this season did not hit the teams they should have beaten because they couldn’t win. The first game against the Raptors this season was extended when it was a blow out. And the Celtics lost their last game against the raptors because they allowed the short raptors to play harder than them. The Celtics have to enter this game to enable maximum efforts and play the raptors as if they were the top team in the league. You cannot underestimate them because of their notes or injuries. If you do that, you could have another lost game that you should have won.

Move the ball – The Celtics are in the league with 26 templates per game 17. They play best when the ball moves and the players open to find the best shots. When the ball holds, the offensive stagnates and the Celtics have difficulty scoring a goal. You have to make good passes and keep the ball in motion instead of falling into hero ball. The raptors are 9. With 28.6 templates per game. In their defeat against the Raptors this season, the Celtics only had 24 templates for 35 for the raptors. The Celtics cannot allow the raptors to feel comfortable and have to interrupt their passports as they move the ball themselves.

X-factors
On the street – The Celtics are back on the street where they are 23-6, but one of these 6 losses was in Toronto. Travel, stay in hotels, play in an unknown place and in front of enemy fans are all distractions that can take away the focus of the players. The Celtics have to get all of this behind and focus on playing their game.

Officiate – Although rarely serves a reason for a victory or a defeat, it can always be an X factor. Every game is called differently. Some games are called closely and some games can be physical. The Celtics must adapt to the way the game is called, and focus on playing and not on the bad calls that are made or not. The trainer of Raptors, Darko Rajakovic, will definitely tell you that the activity can be an X factor after he was enthusiastic about the officials after a game last season and in December for a swear at the referee during a game in December was ejected.

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