Raptors rematch could carry long-term implications for Celtics

Amid all the turmoil of the last couple weeks, the Celtics remain in a reasonable spot in the Eastern Conference after a disappointing 8-6 start to the season. They are tied for the third seed with the Pacers as of Friday afternoon and are within shouting distance of the Raptors (3.5 GB) and Bucks (1.5 GB) after both squads stumbled over the past week.

Toronto, specifically, has started to show a few flaws in wake of a red-hot start after dropping home games to the Pelicans and Pistons within the past five days. They have started to lose a couple bodies on the wing (Norm Powell, CJ Miles) and their lack of reliable 3-point shooting has risen to the surface (33 percent from downtown). Only three players on the team are shooting above 35 percent from 3-point range and one of those will be out for the next couple months in Powell.

Meanwhile, the Celtics have a nice schedule set up for themselves leading into Christmas to right the ship.

After a tough back-to-back against the Jazz on Saturday night, they will spend their next 15 games playing teams that are borderline playoff squads or ones expected to finish in the lottery. The toughest tests within that window (New Orleans x 2, Minnesota) are a far cry from the gauntlet the C's faced over their first 15 games, which included the Bucks, Raptors, Nuggets, Blazers and Jazz.

There is plenty of room for standings damage control for Boston within that stretch, but most of that will do little good when it comes to the No. 1 seed without a win on Friday night. Falling behind 4.5 games in the standings with no chance of winning the head-to-head tiebreaker with Toronto down the line would be a very tall hill to climb for these C's, even in the early stages of this season.

Given the team's inability to win in Toronto over the past three-plus years, this contest carries a little more importance beyond just being a measuring stick contest for where the team is at right now.

"We just have to be up for the challenge," Kyrie Irving said after Wednesday's win. "I’m excited for that game. I’m excited for both games,  back and forth. Obviously one game at a time, but that’s just a competitor’s dream to be going against the best of the best. Obviously early-season when we played them in Toronto it wasn’t who we are now or what we’re trying to grow into, so I think it’ll just be a great test for us. They have a lot of great players that we all well know. So, just up for the challenge."

While there will be plenty of time to jockey in the standings come March and April, there is no denying that this team looks like a different one on the road right now, as was the case during last year's postseason (just one win away from the TD Garden). The road to the Eastern Conference Finals gets a lot tougher in hostile territory, so the chance to create an easier path begins again tonight at the Garden.