Raptors (7-4) at Celtics (11-2) Game #14 11/12/17

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Toronto Raptors (7-4) at Boston Celtics (11-2)
Sunday, November 12, 2017
3:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game [HASH]14 Home Game [HASH]7
TV: NBCSB, Sportsnet One, NBA-LP 750(DTV), 751(xfinity)
Radio: 100.7 WZLX, 590 The Fan
TD Garden



Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
PG: Marcus Smart
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Marcus Morris
C: Al Horford

Celtics Reserves
Shane Larkin
Abdel Nader
Semi Ojeleye
Daniel Theis
Guerschon Yabusele
Terry Rozier
Jabari Bird
Aron Baynes

Injuries
Gordon Hayward (ankle) out
Al Horford (concussion) probable
Kyrie Irving (facial fracture) doubtful

Two Way Players
Kadeem Allen

Coach
Brad Stevens




Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
PG: Kyle Lowry
SG: DeMar Derozan
SF: Norman Powell
PF: Serge Ibaka
C: Jonas Valanciunas

Raptors Reserves
OG Anunoby
Bruno Caboclo
Alfonzo McKinnie
CJ Miles
Lucas Nogueira
Jacob Poeltl
Pascal Siakam
Fred VanVleet
Delon Wright

Injuries
None

Two Way Players
Lorenzo Brown
Malcolm Miller

Head Coach
Dwane Casey

Game Notes
The Celtics host the Toronto Raptors for the first of 4 meetings this season. They will meet again in Boston on March 31 and then twice in Toronto February 6 and April 4. The Celtics are finishing a 3 game home stand while the Raptors are beginning a 3 game road trip. Toronto is in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division and 4th in the Eastern Conference.

The Raptors are 3-3 on the road and have won their last 2 games. The Celtics are 5-1 at home and have won 11 straight games. Together these two teams have won 10 of the last 11 Atlantic division crowns with Boston winning 6 and Toronto winning 4. Toronto has won the series 3 of the last 4 seasons and they won last season 3-1.

The Raptors have had the Celtics number for the most part for the past 3 years. Toronto is 11-5 vs Boston since the 2013-14 season. They have the most wins against the Celtics of any teams over that span. Toronto is 40-9 vs Atlantic Division foes since the 2014-15 season and they are 8-4 over Boston during that span.

Kyrie Irving suffered a minor facial fracture after getting hit in the first quarter of the Hornets game by teammate Aron Baynes. He is listed as doubtful for this game and expected to play through the injury wearing a face mask after that. The good news is that Al Horford is listed as probable for this game.

I am guessing that Brad will start Marcus Smart at the point if Kyrie is out. Smart was brought into the game when Kyrie went down in the first quarter of the Hornets game. And when the second half began Smart was once again on the floor with the starters. I'm also guessing that Brad will keep Morris in the starting 5 with Horford and bring Baynes off the bench once again.

Brad may also decide to start Terry Rozier or Shane Larkin, who scored a season-high 16 points on Friday, if he doesn't go with Smart. It's also possible that he may opt to leave Baynes in the starting lineup and bring Morris off the bench. The Raptors have no injuries reported and their regular starters are listed here.

Key Matchups

vs
Marcus Smart vs Kyle Lowry
Lowry has given the Celtics problems in the past and so they need to pay particular attention to slowing him down. He is averaging 5.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.5 assists. The Celtics would like to have Kyrie to counter Lowry, but Smart's defense may be able to slow the Raptors offense down.

vs
Jaylen Brown vs DeMar DeRozan
DeRozan is the Raptors best player and he is averaging 24.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Jaylen will need to play lock down defense to keep DeMar from having a big game. With Kyrie likely out, Jaylen will also need to find his offense to give the Celtics a boost on that end.

Honorable Mention
Marcus Morris vs Serge Ibaka
Ibaka is averaging 13.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. He's always a threat to block shots and get second chance points and so Morris needs to keep him out of the paint as much as possible. He is also a threat from outside so he needs to stick with him on the perimeter as well.

Keys to the Game
Defense
Defense has always been and always will be the key to winning. The Celtics have the best defensive rating in the league at 94.8. The Raptors are 17th with a defensive rating of 103.8. They need to play particularly tough defense against the Raptors since they are capable of putting up a lot of points in a hurry. The Raptors are 7th in the league, averaging 110.1 points per game. Especially if Kyrie is out, if the Celtics want to win, they are going to have to do so with lock down defense.

Be Aggressive
The Celtics must be the more aggressive team. They have to be aggressive on defense, in going after loose balls, in crashing the boards, and just all around going all out. They have to aggressively attack the basket. They need to start the game with that aggressive attitude and be aggressive through the whole game with no let up.

Rebound
The Celtics must crash the boards. They can't score if they don't have the ball. Much of rebounding is effort and desire. The Celtics have to be the team that puts out more effort from every player to go after rebounds. The Celtics are 4th in rebounds at 47.6 per game. The Raptors are 24th with 41.9 per game. The Celtics have to continue crashing the boards in this game.

Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics have been coming out of the gates slowly and letting teams get a lead. That has worked out against them vs the Magic and the Hornets, but if they give the Raptors a big lead, they will have a tougher time coming back. They need to start strong and play hard right up until the final buzzer.

X-Factors
Home Game - The Celtics are still at home and several of the players mentioned that the crowd getting into the game helped them pull out a win against the Hornets and the Garden crowd needs to give the team a boost again in this one.

Next Man Up - The Celtics have been finding ways to win even without key players. They did it when Morris couldn't play at the beginning of the season. They did it when Hayward went down. They did it when Al Horford was out with a concussion. They did it when Jayson Tatum left the game with ankle soreness. And, they did it when Marcus Smart missed games with an ankle sprain. Now, they have to find a way to win without Kyrie. Who will step up their game in this one?
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[jmost]

As you say, we haven't been able to stop Lowry and DeRozan for years. Maybe a slimmer, quicker Smart will make a difference. If it doesn't, this one could be tough.

[afceltic]

Hopefully Smart doesn't shoot us out of the game. He should shoot no more than 10 shots a game unless he is having a game like he did vs the Cavs in the playoffs last year when he was out of his mind shooting the ball and couldn't miss.

[FLCeltsFan]

Today's starters are Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Aron Baynes.

Al in and Kyrie out. Morris to the bench

[TenTwentyFour]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEssssssssssssss!

[mev17]

Another hard-fought win. Thank goodness Al was back today! Hopefully Kyrie will be back soon.

[jmost]

This is getting mighty impressive. I thought Theis was huge in the middle of the fourth quarter with blocks, rebounds and putbacks. What a great find by Danny.

It's hard to nitpick when you beat a good (healthy) team without your two best players, but I wish Marcus would PLEASE not take a difficult shot with 30ish seconds left in a tight game when Al and Jayson are out there with him. For years the Spurs have operated on the principle "Good to Great", meaning don't take the first good shot that presents itself if there's time to find a great shot. We can improve in that area.

[DERRENMATTS]

This defense is impressive. Toronto has one of the most efficient offenses in the league, but our defense forced them to turn the ball over 17 times. And our offense stunk in the 1st half, but because of our defense, we hung in there.

Like you mentioned, we were without 2 of our main cogs, and we still pulled this out.

Once our offense becomes top 5, we're going to be toe to toe with the Warriors.

[mev17]

I can't express how good it feels to win a tight game because we controlled the glass and got MORE offensive rebounds and therefore more possessions. After years of losing games like this because of giving up second chance points, I LOVE how well we are rebounding as a team.

[jmost]

Absolutely! Getting killed on the boards game after game, year after year, was frustrating as hell. This is great, and a helluva surprise to me too. After all the changes last summer I thought we still needed another big man, but the gang-rebounding has been really effective.

[DERRENMATTS]

It's funny becasue even after all the praises Brad receives, he's still under-valued!

[Roadrunner]

Fan-tastic win. Really great team effort.

[dilligaf53]

Great win!
I brought my Pops to the game and we saw this one in person. I usually only get to 1 or 2 games a year now, since my kids take all my money, but this one was worth it. But whats up with the Garden not liking cash, so many credit card/phone only concessions, i thought cash was king?
On to the game...
Jaylen had a great start, I love it. But then there are times he is just hanging in the corner and the offense seems to be frozen on Marcus. I wanna see Jaylen take that explosive step and hit the hole. The same thing with Tatum, he has a Pierce-esk move by guys to get to the hoop, but then his length makes him look like he's gliding by players and making easy layups. He is a real treat to watch.
Al, is really running this team, having him on the floor again makes everything look better. Watching him tell other players what to do, or where to be is great.
Lets keep Rollin!