Final: Celtics 110, Raptors 108 - Tillman saves Celtics, Brown out with hamstring injury

BOSTON CELTICS vs TORONTO RAPTORS

Preseason game #4

TD Garden, 7:30 p.m. - NBCS Boston, NBA TV

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Rebounding: The Celtics have been abysmal at defensive rebounding. They need to start controlling the things they can control on that end.

“Box out, honestly,” Xavier Tillman admitted at practice this week. “As funny as it may seem, if you actually sat and watched the games and watched a shot go up and the team got an offensive rebound, the majority of the time, one of us is just staring at the ball versus actually finding your man, hitting your man, and then going and getting the ball. So it’s more intentional versus any skill or anything like that.”

The Celtics really just need to grab five more defensive rebounds per game. I hope this preseason has shown them how much effort is necessary to make that happen. 

2. Pace: I want to see less iso from the ball-stoppers like Anfernee Simons and a little more pace. I know people are having a good time with Simons looking like Damian Lillard out there, but he’s not really Dame and the Celtics are trying to build an identity. Let’s see more of that. 

3. Health: Just come out of this unscathed. That's really all I ask. 

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.