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Toronto Raptors (0-0) at Boston Celtics (0-0)
Monday, October 7, 2013
7:30 PM ET
Preseason Game #1
TV: CSNNE
TD GardenThe first preseason game is finally here and the Celtics host their divisional foe, the Toronto Raptors. The Celtics have a mix of veterans and youth and it's hard to tell at this point who will start. My best guess is that the starters will be:
Point Guard: Avery Bradley
Shooting Guard: Courtney Lee
Small Forward:Jeff Green
Power Forward: Jared Sullinger
Center: Kris Humphries
But really I have no idea who coach Stevens is going to put in the starting lineup. He may go with youth, or he may go with veterans, or he may start a mix of youth and veterans. I don't think even the coach knows for sure who the starting lineups are going to be at this point. Predicting preseason games is always an inexact science because for the most part, the coach is trying to see different combinations and lineups and the lineups we may see now will probably have no resemblance to the lineups we will see in the regular season.
Celtics RosterChris Babb
Brandon Bass
Damen Bell-Holter
Keith Bogans
Avery Bradley
MarShon Brooks
Jordan Crawford
Vitor Faverani
Jeff Green
Kris Humphries
Courtney Lee
Kelly Olynyk
Phil Pressey
Rajon Rondo
DeShawn Sims
Jared Sullinger
Kammron Taylor
Gerald Wallace
Injuries Rajon Rondo (ACL)out
Players to Watch Kelly Olynyk impressed everyone in Summer League. Now it's against the big boys and Celtics' fans will be watching to see if his Summer League performance was for real.
Honorable Mention: Vitor Faverani - L'Hombre Indestructible is a mystery to most Celtics fans and everyone will be watching to see what he will bring to the team.
Raptors Roster
Quincy Acy
DJ Augustin
Dwight Buycks
Austin Daye
DeMar DeRozan
Landry Fields
Rudy Gay
Aaron Gray
Tyler Hansbrough
Amir Johnson
Kyle Lowry
Carlos Morais
Steve Novak
Terrence Ross
Julyan Stone
Jonas Valanciunas
Chris Wright
Injuries
None
Player to Watch
The Raptors didn't have a pick in the first round of the draft and so they will be depending on players who have been here along with free agents to improve this season.
Rudy Gay is one of their key acquisitions from last season and his play will be key to the success of the Raptors.
Honorable Mention:Jonas Valanciunas - The second year center started to come into his own at the end of last season. He will need to continue his improvement this season for the Raptors to be successful.
Keys to the Game: Develop chemistry
Find the best combination of players to start
Identify the second unit
Look at the camp invites to see if we have a diamond in the rough
No injuries
Have fun