Final: Celtics 109, Raptors 97 - C's put together rare good 4th quarter, pull away from Toronto

Game 21: Boston Celtics (10-10, 10th East) vs. Toronto Raptors (9-11, 12th East)
Scotiabank Arena
6:00 PM, NBC Sports Boston 

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Grant Williams

Toronto: Fred VanVleet, Svi Mykhailiuk, Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, Precious Achiuwa

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Dennis Schröder (right ankle sprain) is out.

“It’s a single-game thing,” Ime Udoka said before the game. “He rolled it pretty bad a few weeks ago, I think it against Miami, played through it, played well, especially with Jaylen being out. He pushed through it. He did again last game and just a chance to get them some rest. But he's done it twice now and so we wanted to give him these days, obviously with two days off after this game as well. Should be back against Philadelphia.”

- Robert Williams (non-COVID illness) is also out. Josh Richardson has rejoined the team and is available

- OG Anunoby (hip pointer), Khem Birch (right knee), Gary Trent (calf) are out for Toronto

- Goran Dragic is away from the Raptors indefinitely for personal reasons

- Toronto is favored by 1

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER

Grant Williams called his team out after the loss to San Antonio. 

“From the start of the game, from the start of tip off, we have to come out with more intensity and come out with more of that oomph,” he said. “We have to hold each other to that standard, that highest accountability standard where each one of us when we see a person that may not be locked in that night or may not be playing with that intensity, we call them out on it. That’s the next step is understanding that nothing on the court is personal.”

It may sound odd coming from a third-year player who gets spot starts and relies on others to get almost everything he gets on the floor, but the coach is happy with more voices standing out. 

"I think it's positive if you have leaders out there that'll speak,” he said. “It's not just coming from me every time. ... I'm always gonna talk to the guys and hold them accountable as far as that, but it always is good when it comes from each other as well.”

Udoka says he feels like the team is built to accept constructive criticism, and maybe some of it coming from unexpected sources will stoke some flames around the team. 

“We don't always have the most vocal as I'd like, but I think they're growing into that and it's not a problem,” he said. “It's a positive for me for guys to hold each other accountable on the court. Ill do my thing but they should take some onus on that as well.

“I don’t think it matters where it comes from. If something is being done everyone should speak on it. That’s part of their growth. Those guys are growing into being leaders and being more vocal. That will take us to another level as a team.”

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. The slow start: This is the most blatantly obvious, basic thing I can start with. It’s also the most blatant, obvious, basic problem Boston has. The entire team has to buy into the entire Ime Udoka offensive and defensive system, for the entire game. That’s how this is going to work. 

2. Offensive rebounding: Not only can the Celtics extend some possessions by attacking the offensive glass, they can slow down the Raptors’ desire to get into transition. 

“We talk about our first layer of transition defense is attack the glass and slow them down,” Udoka said. “They’ve hurt us with and we got them back in the second game. But, depending on who we were playing with, obviously if we had Rob and bigger bodies, it’d be something we’d stress more. It’s one of the things he does well. But we’re cognizant of them running out in transition as well.”

3. Who is getting into the paint? With Schröder out, the Celtics will be missing one guy who can consistently collapse the defense. Marcus Smart has done a much better job of that lately, but the job of that off the bench will fall onto Payton Pritchard. The Celtics can take advantage of Toronto’s injuries by getting into the paint ... if they can get there.

GAME THREAD

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