Final: Raptors 115, Celtics 112 - Valiant effort by Celtics subs falls short

GAME 76
Boston Celtics (47-28, 21-16 road, T-1st East) vs. Toronto Raptors (42-32, 19-16 home, 6th East)
Scotiabank Arena
7:30 PM - NBC Sports Boston

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Aaron Nesmith, Grant Williams, Daniel Theis

Toronto: Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Khem Birch

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Robert Williams is out with a torn meniscus in his left knee. More on that momentarily. Al Horford remains out for personal reasons. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are nursing sore right knees and will sit out as well. 

“The amount of games, obviously the back to back, but them coming in with some soreness last night,” Ime Udoka said. “When you look at the big picture of us getting healthy going toward the playoffs, that was the main goal. Obviously, a few other guys being out impacts the team in general. But we wanted to get those guys a night and not run them down as well.”

- Gary Trent, Jr. was originally listed as questionable but will play for Toronto.

- Jayson Tatum was named East Player of the Week today. He’s the first Celtic to ever win it in consecutive weeks.

- Toronto is favored by 8.5

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER

- Robert Williams needs surgery

This is not going to be a situation where rehabbing the knee is an option.

“We’ll know in the next few days, just evaluate some surgical options, look at those over the next few days and we'll know more then.”

“We’ll know in the next few days, just evaluate some surgical options, look at those over the next few days and we'll know more then,” Ime Udoka said before the game. “There are some that keep you out longer than others and we're hoping for the best as far as that.”

Generally speaking there are options to repair the meniscus that take longer to heal and would cost Williams a significant amount of time. There is a process to remove a portion of the meniscus and that could mean a quicker return. 

It’s important to understand that the meniscus is cartilage, and its function is to act as a sort of shock absorber. The issue with removing part of the meniscus is that there is an increased risk for arthritis in the knee later in life. 

But the meniscus doesn’t just heal on its own. There always has to be some sort of intervention for the athlete, and Williams and the Celtics will be deciding on one this week. 

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Daniel Theis figuring things out: The most important thing in this game tonight is Daniel Theis starting to get a better grasp of things on both ends of the floor. If he’s going to be filling in for Robert Williams, he’s going to have to get more up to speed in a hurry. 

“It changes the dynamic obviously,” Udoka said. “That's why we feel confident with getting Daniel in for these reasons. And so, as much as we wanted to shave down some minutes with Al and Rob going into the playoffs, that's also an insurance policy. And Daniel's a guy who is versatile, can do a lot of the same things as both those guys. Different player obviously, but we're relying on him.” Obviously got the option to downsize and then Grant doing what he’s doing. So, time being, we’ll know more in the next few days about Rob specifically, but until then other guys will step up and have to carry the load.”

2. A breakout star: These weird games are fertile ground for someone buried on the bench to make the most of an opportunity. It might be as simple as Nesmith making some shots or it could be two-way player Matt Ryan shocking people. Either way, these types of games can be full of surprises. Maybe Boston will hit on one. 

3. Just get out healthy: Protect Marcus Smart at all costs. Put Derrick Williams in bubble wrap. Whatever the Celtics need to do to just get out of this thing healthy. We’re ready to chalk this up as a loss. The Celtics are clearly willing to punt the game, so there's no reason to push your main rotation guys too hard. 

GAME THREAD

Stick around for more comments below as the game goes on. Feel free to add your two cents in the comments