Author Topic: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16  (Read 45704 times)

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Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« on: December 08, 2016, 10:08:39 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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Toronto Raptors (15-7) at Boston Celtics (13-9)
Friday, December 9, 2016
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #23 Home Game #10
TV:  CSNNE, Sportsnet One, NBA-LP 754(DTV), 753(xfinity)
Radio:  98.5 Sports Hub,  TSN Radio 1050
TD Garden




Probable Starters

Marcus Smart...Avery Bradley...Jae Crowder ...Al Horford...Amir Johnson

Celtics Reserves

Jaylen Brown
Gerald Green
Terry Rozier
James Young
Jonas Jerebko
Tyler Zeller
Kelly Olynyk
Demetrius Jackson
Jordan Mickey

Injuries
Isaiah Thomas  (groin)  out

Head Coach
Brad Stevens




Probable Starters 

Kyle Lowry...DeMar DeRozan...DeMarre Carroll...Pascal Siakam...Jonas Valanciunas

Raptors Reserves
Bruno Caboclo
Cory Joseph
Lucas Nogueira
Patrick Patterson
Jakob Poeltl
Norman Powell
Terrence Ross
Fred VanVleet

Injuries
Jared Sullinger  (foot)  out
Delon Wright (shoulder)  out

Head Coach

Dwayne Casey 

Game Notes

The Celtics return home from their 3 game road trip to host division rival Toronto Raptors for the first of four meetings this season.  The Raptors won the series 3-1 last season.  These two teams are expected to battle for the Atlantic Division title as well as the second spot in the East.  Currently, the Raptors are 2nd in the East and 2 games ahead of the Celtics. 

The Celtics last played on Wednesday when they beat the Orlando Magic to complete their
road trip 2-1.   The Raptors are playing in the second of back to back games. The finished an 8 game home stand with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.   They are 2-2 on the second night of back to back games.  The Raptors have won 7 of their last 8 games. 

Both teams are 7-3 in their last 10 games.  The Raptors are 6-3 on the road while the Celtics are 5-4 at home.  Both teams are undefeated in division play.  The Celtics are 4-0 against Atlantic division teams while the Raptors are 2-0 against Atlantic division teams. 

The Celtics will once again be without leading scorer Isaiah Thomas who is still out with a strained goin muscle.  Marcus Smart is expected to start once again in his place.   The Raptors will be without former Celtic Jared Sullinger who is out with a foot injury.  Delon Wright is also out with a shoulder injury. 

Key Matchups
vs
Marcus Smart vs Kyle Lowry
Lowry has given the Celtics problems in the past and he is playing very well so far this year, averaging 20.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game.   Marcus might not be able to score like Isaiah, but he should be able to slow Lowry down somewhat.   

vs
Avery Bradley vs DeMar DeRozan
DeRozan is Toronto's leading scorer and is going to be a tough cover.  He is averaging 28 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  Avery did a good job of slowing down Orlando's leading scorer and hopefully he can do it once again in this game and keep DeRozan from going off against the Celtics.   It's important for the Celtics to slow down both of Toronto's high scoring back court players. 

Honorable Mention
Bench vs Bench
The Celtics got a big game from their young guns off the bench against the Magic and they will need another big game from their reserves in this game.  Over their past 10 games, the Raptors' bench ranks 3rd in the league, shooting 49.5% from the field and they are 1st with 49.1% 3 point percentage.  The Celtics reserves will not only have to play well on the offensive end, but they will be counted on to slow down the Raptors' hot shooting players off the bench.

Keys to the Game
Defense

Defense has always been and always will be the key to winning.   The Celtics finally showed the tough defense that we came to expect from them last season in the game against the Magic.  Hopefully they will keep that defensive mindset in this game as well.   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 4th in the league, averaging 110.9 points per game.  The Celtics will need to bring their defensive intensity in order to get a win in this game. 

Be Aggressive

The Celtics must 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.  We finally saw that aggressiveness against the Magic and hopefully they will bring it to this game also. 

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 7-0 when they grab 49% of the available rebounds. 

Run and Move the Ball

The Celtics need to run on every possession and get up the court before the defenses get set up.  When the Celtics slow down, their offense gets sluggish so they need to run throughout the game.  They also have to move the ball and find the open man.  The Celtics need to keep the ball moving and not lapse into hero ball. 

X-Factors
Fatigue
-  For the second game in a row, the Celtics have an opponent on the second night of back to back games.  This time, their opponent also had to travel after the game.  The Celtics need to run and keep the pace up and fatigue may come into play by the end of the game. 

Home Court - Although the Raptors are a good road team,  the Celtics need to take advantage of being at home.  They should feed off of the home crowd's energy. 

Officiating Factor - Officiating is always an x-factor. How the refs call the game has a big influence on how the teams play. Will they let them play or call every little bit of contact? Will they call it evenly or will they favor one team or the other. Will they be influenced by the home crowd or will they call it fairly for both teams?  It all effects the outcome of the game. 
« Last Edit: December 09, 2016, 08:03:09 AM by FLCeltsFan »

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2016, 10:10:45 PM »

Offline celticslove

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TP FL for another great job! Let's go Cs!

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2016, 10:11:58 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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TP celticslove for being the first to post in the game thread!!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOO Celtics!!!!   

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2016, 10:16:48 PM »

Offline hwangjini_1

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Game thread! Thanks and thanks flc. A tp for sure...

But...

Those have to be the most butt ugly hats I have ever seen. Mayhaps flc is trying to scare Toronto into forfeiting the game?

But...

In any case...

Gooooooooo Celtics!  ;D
I believe Gandhi is the only person who knew about real democracy — not democracy as the right to go and buy what you want, but democracy as the responsibility to be accountable to everyone around you. Democracy begins with freedom from hunger, freedom from unemployment, freedom from fear, and freedom from hatred.
- Vandana Shiva

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2016, 10:18:25 PM »

Offline tarheelsxxiii

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FOURTH!  The boys are going to have to bring their A game for this barn burner.
The Tarstradamus Group, LLC

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2016, 10:27:22 PM »

Offline jpotter33

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I think Carroll is out tomorrow, too, because he played tonight.

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2016, 10:46:38 PM »

Online SHAQATTACK

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Saw Sully in street cloths at their game tonight .

I guess they don't have Duncan Donuts in Toronto...

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2016, 10:49:00 PM »

Online SHAQATTACK

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We got TWO James Youngs.   :)


No we don 't ...... ;D
« Last Edit: December 09, 2016, 07:11:49 PM by SHAQATTACK »

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #8 on: December 09, 2016, 12:31:30 AM »

Offline trickybilly

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Half of me wants to win this to silence the regular panic merchants, other half wants us to lose so to silence the IT to the bench movement..

Go C's!!
"Gimme the ball, gimme the ball". Freddy Quimby, 1994.

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #9 on: December 09, 2016, 12:33:06 AM »

Offline alewilliam789

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As much as I want us to win this game, I also want us to get desecrated to shut up all these trade/bench IT dinguses

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #10 on: December 09, 2016, 01:28:01 AM »

Offline CelticsFan166

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I'll be there! Let's go Cs!

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #11 on: December 09, 2016, 01:53:34 AM »

Offline tarheelsxxiii

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I'll be there! Let's go Cs!

Please yell "CB!!" at some major moment in the game...
« Last Edit: December 09, 2016, 02:24:46 AM by tarheelsxxiii »
The Tarstradamus Group, LLC

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #12 on: December 09, 2016, 03:48:00 AM »

Offline ImShakHeIsShaq

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As much as I want us to win this game, I also want us to get desecrated to shut up all these trade/bench IT dinguses


so, you want the team to lose just to prove you're right? nothing wrong with being an IT4 fan above all (I was a Shaq fan above anything) but I will never understand a person wanting their fave's team to lose. to each his own, I guess.
It takes me 3hrs to get to Miami and 1hr to get to Orlando... but I *SPIT* on their NBA teams! "Bless God and bless the (Celts)"-Lady GaGa (she said gays but she really meant Celts)

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #13 on: December 09, 2016, 04:29:46 AM »

Offline LGC88

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if we play like the last 2 games, we'll win this one.
IT or not, if this team is locked in defensively and share the ball offensively, they win.

Re: Raptors (15-7) at Celtics (13-9) Game #23 12/9/16
« Reply #14 on: December 09, 2016, 05:31:44 AM »

Offline mr. dee

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I expect Valenciunas to go ham against us.