Raptors take strides in pre-season win over previously unbeaten Celtics

Relatively than coming into the early phases of the 2024-25 season coasting till the playoffs, or at the least video games that matter, the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics arrived in Toronto on Tuesday with an ideal 4-0 file within the pre-season and searching each inch the heavy favorite to defend their title.

Amongst these wins was one over the Raptors in Boston on Sunday when the Celtics’ second and third models mopped the ground with whoever Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic placed on it.

Toronto surged again within the second half within the street contest, however shedding the primary two quarters by 33 factors meant it was exhausting to get too inspired about something that occurred after that time. Nevertheless it was not too quickly to marvel: ‘if the Raptors starters are getting blown out by the Celtics non-starters, what does that say?’

That’s nonetheless too be decided, clearly, however thus far the Celtics appear proof against any post-championship letdown,

“We’re simply able to compete [and] most significantly [want to know] how aggressive can we be? How open-minded can we be to get again up to the mark on our reads and our communication and constructing our connectivity and get [the] program to the place it was earlier than,” mentioned Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. “In order that they’ve performed that, and we’ve introduced that all through the [pre-season].”

To this point by a pre-season that has been marked extra by accidents than lengthy stretches of sturdy play – there could also be a connection – the Raptors have regarded like a staff looking for its identification, which is just too be anticipated given the quantity of participant turnover previously 12 months or so.

Rajakovic needs a staff that performs with velocity and creates loads of seems from three, however by three pre-season video games his membership was twenty fifth in tempo, thirtieth (31.7) within the variety of threes tried per sport and twenty fourth in threes made (10.7).

The Celtics, in the meantime, got here in averaging 52 three-point makes an attempt and practically 20 made threes per sport, main the pre-season in each classes after 4 video games, selecting up simply the place they left off throughout their championship season.

It’s a tricky to win when your opponent is scoring 27 factors extra from the three-point line than you might be.

Rajakovic holds out hope.

“I feel there have been conditions in these final couple of video games that we performed that we skipped open pictures,” he mentioned Tuesday. “We’ve bought to do a greater job of recognizing these conditions and taking pictures with confidence … they should get snug with the spacing, with the road. They’re taking pictures a number of pictures of their exercises. That’s a giant emphasis. And likewise it’s for them to start out seeing it in a sport. They will see on movie, once we confirmed them, like, ‘That was a chance for a shot, however you skipped it. You had been in search of one thing else.’ They’ve bought to really feel snug to take these pictures.”

All of that coaxing, teaching and instructing appeared to repay early in a 119-118 win that improved Toronto to 2-2 within the pre-season.

The Raptors pushed the ball, moved the ball and took and made a excessive quantity of open to wide-open threes within the early going. Scottie Barnes was on the centre of it as he began the sport by making 4 of his first 5 three-point makes an attempt. He additionally was getting his toes within the paint, collapsing the Celtics defence and kicking the ball out to create seems for his teammates.

“He’s a our chief, an enormous a part of this staff,”  mentioned second-year Raptors wing Gradey Dick. “And his power is contagious, our complete staff feeds off of that, and actually makes us all wish to play like that. That was an emphasis [after Sunday], popping out with power and we tried to make a change from final sport.”

Dick was the prime beneficiary as he chipped in with 15 first-quarter factors on good 6-of-6 taking pictures, together with all three of his three-point makes an attempt, two of which had been arrange by Barnes.

By quarter’s finish, the Raptors had been main 46-27 as they had been 10-of-14 from deep, to 2-of-12 from three by Boston.

However that flipped within the second quarter. Barnes took the ground with the Raptors bench unit – a gaggle much more suspect given Davion Mitchell and Ochai Agbaji had been beginning to make up for the absence of Immanuel Quickley (thumb) and RJ Barrett (shoulder) within the beginning lineup. As properly, depth items Kelly Olynyk (again), Bruce Brown (knee), Ja’Kobe Walter (shoulder) and Garrett Temple (hamstring) stay out.

An apart: Rajakovic mentioned Quickley is near returning after participating in his first full-contact exercise on Tuesday morning.

Anyway, all of that is to say the Celtics regarded a lot too snug within the second quarter as their bench unit, joined by star Jayson Tatum, sprinted out to a 19-0 run to tie the Raptors after 4:10 had been performed on their solution to taking a 67-66 lead into the half. The distinction was on the three-point line: the Raptors had been 0-of-8 after their scorching begin and Boston leveled up, making 8-of-15 makes an attempt from deep.

Maybe the Raptors’ most encouraging basketball got here after halftime, nonetheless. With Boston enjoying its last pre-season sport and the Raptors with only one extra – Friday in opposition to Brooklyn – every coach was utilizing Tuesday’s sport to get their regulars nearer to regular-season minutes totals.

And in a 3rd quarter the place a lot of the gamers on the ground undertaking to be in every staff’s rotation, the Raptors group greater than held its personal. Nobody appeared to have extra legs that Dick, who scored 25 of his game-high 27 factors in his first 25 minutes and bought them on a variety of makes an attempt: catch-and-shoot threes, threes from dribble-handoffs with Barnes, pull-up jumpers after defenders compelled him off the three-point line, some sensible cuts and difficult finishes in transition. It was a full menu and a mirrored image of the work the 20-year-old has put in to develop his sport since being drafted final summer season.

“I consider Gradey is greater than a spot-up shooter,” mentioned Rajakovic. “If we speak about our imaginative and prescient for him, this sort of the subsequent layer to it … so the whole lot that’s coming off cuts and drives and slip-outs, that must be developed, however his one-on-one sport, his pick-and-roll sport it’s going to come back, he’s going to give you the option deal with these as properly.”

Barnes additionally was glorious in his second sport after lacking the primary two exhibition video games as he had 26 factors, 10 assists and 9 rebounds. Jakob Poeltl had 15 factors and 16 rebounds in half-hour, whereas Mitchell had 10 assists.

Boston was led by Tatum’s 23 factors. Every staff performed their starters within the vary of half-hour. The Raptors shot 50 per cent from the ground and had been 15-of-43 from deep. Boston shot 41.3 per cent and 18-of-55 from three.

The important thing stretch of the sport was the third quarter because the Raptors picked up their defensive effort after a sloppy second quarter and held the Celtics to 25-per-cent taking pictures within the third quarter and took a well-earned 97-86 lead into the fourth. Every staff gave their rotation gamers a bit extra room to stretch their legs within the fourth and by the point Barnes hit his fifth three of the night time – and first for the reason that opening quarter – the Raptors had been main 108-98.

They held on from there, although they required some clutch free-throw taking pictures from DJ Carton to provide the Raptors a late lead, and a giant block by rookie Branden Carlson on the buzzer to protect the win.

Neither participant figures to play a significant position for the staff this season, however after some shaky begins thus far, the Raptors core greater than holding their very own in opposition to the world champion Celtics is welcomed.

Extra from Sportsnet

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Raptors level guard Immanuel Quickley stays day after day with sprained thumb

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