Everything you need to know about the Celtics' 112-94 win over the Raptors with BSJ insight and analysis
Box Score
HEADLINES
Celtics dominate from start to finish: All five Celtics starters scored in double figures as the Celtics jumped all over the Raptors in the first quarter and didn’t look back in a blowout victory on Sunday afternoon. Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum led the way with 21 points each in a balanced scoring performance for Boston while Kemba Walker added a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. Daniel Theis also set a postseason career-high with 15 rebounds to go along with 13 points as he helped Boston build a 16-point, first-quarter lead which forced the Raptors to play catch up for the majority of 48 minutes. Kyle Lowry had a team-high 17 points but the Raptors offense stalled all day against Boston’s stout defense combined with an ugly shooting day from 3-point range. Toronto shot just 36.9 percent as a team and 25 percent from 3-point range, with All-Star Pascal Siakam held to just 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
The Celtics take a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 2 on Tuesday.
Rob Williams re-emerges off the bench and becomes a factor: After dropping out of the rotation in a lackluster Game 1 against the Sixers, Rob Williams got the call and did not disappoint against Toronto's center. The big man was all over the floor in his 19 minutes (with plenty of mistakes along the way) but there was no arguing with his production. He chipped in with 10 points, 5 rebounds and a pair of blocks while making all five of his shots. The scoring boost turned the center position into a huge advantage for the C’s as they combined for 23 points and 18 rebounds on the afternoon between Williams and Theis, a far cry from the lackluster out that duo saw during the Sixers series.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics really took command of this game midway through the first quarter with a 14-2 run to push their early lead up to 18 points all while Jayson Tatum (usually the best plus/minus player on the team) was on the bench. Even after an ugly offensive second quarter, that early run gave the C’s enough of a cushion to overcome rough stretches of offense over the final three quarters.
TWO UP
Marcus Smart: The reserve guard snapped out of his shooting funk in the first quarter of this one, knocking down all three of his shots, including a pair from 3-point range to finish with a game-high 10 points in the opening frame. That hot shooting did not let up over the next three quarters as Smart finished with a postseason high 21 points for this season while knocking five of his nine 3-point attempts.
Celtics 3-point shooting: Boston began the game scoring hot from 3-point range, knocking down six of their first nine attempts on their way to a 39 point first quarter. The Celtics cooled off a bit in the middle two quarters but still shot 43 percent on the team on the afternoon against the best 3-point defensive team in the NBA. On top of Smart's hot shooting, Kemba Walker (4-of-7 from 3-point range) maintained his momentum from the Sixers series with an efficient offensive performance from the perimeter.
TWO DOWN
Pascal Siakam: The All-Star struggled mightily in the first quarter of this one, piling up three fouls in his first eight minutes of play. He tried to punish the Celtics small defenders in the post (Brown/Smart) but those guys held their ground, limiting Siakam to just one field goal make on his first eight attempts. He finished the game with just 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
Celtics zone offense: Nick Nurse made the first strategic chess move in this matchup, going to a matchup zone to slow down the Celtics offense for the first five minutes of the second quarter. The tactic took the C’s out of their rhythm as they scored just three points in the first six minutes of the second quarter, helping the Raptors to climb back within 10 minutes for a short stretch before the C's adjusted with personnel.
TOP PLAY
Clean up duty ?? pic.twitter.com/VOa67CryGk
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 30, 2020
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
The Celtics took away the Raptors' best offensive option in Game 1 and that’s probably going to continue: The one mismatch on paper that the Raptors should have in this series is with Pascal Siakam. He’s an All-Star and has a size advantage against most of Boston’s wings. With the rest of Boston’s defenders having to stay home on Toronto’s 3-point shooting, the challenge fell on Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Semi Ojeleye to hold up in the post. That trio managed to do just that over 48 minutes, forcing Siakam into tough contested shots in the post instead of letting him bully his way to the rim. As we wrote about in our series preview, Siakam doesn’t have the offensive versatility of Boston’s offensive weapons, especially when his 3-point shot isn’t falling. That has turned him into a bit of a one-trick pony in this series (post and wild drives) and the Celtics have been able to handle that with sole coverage. Without him creating mismatches or drawing extra defenders, Toronto’s offense stalled in the halfcourt. Boston’s strong post defense isn’t going anywhere so it’s tough to see the Raptors offense getting going in this series without them getting into transition regularly.
The Celtics centers loved not seeing Joel Embiid: Daniel Theis and Rob Williams didn’t have much of a chance down low against Joel Embiid in the Sixers frontcourt. That wasn’t much of an issue against Philly since the Celtics wings had plenty of mismatches against the Sixers defenders on the perimeter. The equation has changed against this Raptors team though. Marc Gasol is past his prime and is very soft on the glass. Serge Ibaka is a bit better in that department but he’s also past his prime. Toronto’s other athletic wings are subpar rebounders so that opened the door for the Celtics bigs to take advantage of Toronto’s glaring weakness down low on the glass, as well as a lack of rim protection. The duo gobbled up 18 rebounds and that helped Boston's offense get off and running quickly after numerous Raptors misses. Boston's center position has been better than expected for much of the season and it appears they are going to have a sizable edge in this series without some adjustments from Toronto.
