Final: Raptors 110, Celtics 97 - Garbage second half and another bad loss

BOSTON CELTICS (28-11) at TORONTO RAPTORS (9-31)

Scotiabank Arena, 7:30 p.m. - NBCS Boston

Line: Celtics -14.5

INJURIES

Boston: None

Toronto: Immanuel Quickley (OUT, hip)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Cleaner offense: Whenever the chatter gets loud, these guys tend to toss a clean game our way to shut us all up. They demolished the Raptors and then had wins in Minnesota and Houston after losses to Indiana and Philly over a three-game stretch. Now that they struggled and just barely split two home games, a quick jaunt over the border feels like a good time to get back and track. I’d love to write a “see, this is how it’s done” piece about their offense tonight. 

2. Watch out for Chris Boucher: He’s a prime candidate for an annoying shooting/scoring night. He’s had a three-game stretch of single-digit scoring and he’s currently on a stretch of 23,14, and 18 points. He’s hit 12 of his last 18 3-pointers and he put up games of 12 and seven rebounds. We know what Scottie Barnes can do. Jakob Poeltl has had his moment against Boston. RJ Barrett and Gradey Dick are capable of getting hot. Boucher joining one or more of them on a heater would be annoying as all hell. 

3. Protect the ball: This one is simple. Value the ball and don’t commit live-ball turnovers. No one gets worked up about missed connections where the ball goes out of bounds. The occasional offensive foul is going to happen. Getting blitzed and giving up the ball is unacceptable at this point. The Celtics know what’s coming. Get to your spacing, give guys outlets, and ball handlers be purposeful with your dribbling.  

Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.