Three Thoughts From the Celtics' Game 1 Win Over the Raptors
LAKE BUENA VISTA -- Three thoughts on the Celtics series opening 112-94 win over the Raptors.
• As anticipated series openers go, this one was a dud: The Raptors and Celtics entered the Eastern Conference semifinals white hot. Boston was the only one that stayed that way, beating Toronto 112-94 in Sunday's Game 1. The Celtics led wire-to-wire, building a 19-point first half lead that Toronto couldn’t recover from. Jayson Tatum (21 points) and Marcus Smart (21) led the way, two of six Boston players in double-figures. On August 7, the Celtics shellacked the Raptors by 22. They nearly matched that on Sunday
What happened to Toronto? The Raps have a history of playing poorly in Game 1’s, but this was ugly. The vaunted Toronto defense was shredded in this one. Boston shot 47% from the floor and 43.6% from three. Corner threes were a huge problem for the Raptors. Boston’s drive-and-kick offense found wide open shooters in the corners, with Tatum, Smart, Jaylen Brown and Brad Wanamaker knocking them. Toronto couldn’t get anything of their own going from behind the arc, finishing shooting 25%. The smaller Celtics out-rebounded the Raptors (50-40) and matched them in points in the paint (38). Boston’s center rotation of Daniel Theis and Robert Williams: 23 points, 20 rebounds.
• Paging, Pascal Siakam: How worried should the Raptors be about Siakam? The All-Star forward submitted another clunker, a foul filled 13-point (on 5-16 shooting) effort. Nick Nurse has pushed back on the concern about Siakam, but after an uneven stretch of seeding games and a first round with only one game shooting above 43%, there has to be some concern. The Raptors played through Siakam in the post, but Boston’s string of sturdy wing defenders—Smart, Brown and Semi Ojeleye—forced Siakam into tough shots. Nurse has said it: Toronto needs Siakam to be a shot maker. He’ll have to do it against a Celtics team that plays excellent perimeter defense.
• Kemba Watch: The Boston bench collectively gasped when Kemba Walker came up favoring his left leg after twisting it defending a drive by Siakam. Walker’s knee problems date back to February, when he missed time after the All-Star break. They lingered throughout the hiatus, with the Celtics keeping Walker on a minutes restriction during the seeding games. Walker shook off the injury, started the second half and finished with 18 points. But that knee has been troublesome. It’s worth watching how Walker responds before Tuesday’s Game 2.
