The Boston Celtics sent a strong statement across with a demolition job of the Toronto Raptors in Game 1. Will the Celtics continue their domination of the defending champs? Or will the Raptors hit back in Game 2 and tie the series up?
The Celtics continue their success against the Raptors. Boston is the only team this season to beat the defending champions more than twice this season (4-1 overall since the regular season). In Game 1, the Celtics didn’t give Toronto much of a chance, as they turned a 17-point lead at the end of the first quarter into a 112-94 win. Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart were Boston’s 1-2 punch combo in that game, as each scored 21 points, while playing tenacious defense on the other end of the court. Boston’s outside shooting made it hard for the Raptors to catch up or build meaningful runs, as the Celtics shot 17 of 39 from deep, while holding Toronto to just 10-for-40 shooting from behind the arc. Daniel Theiss also came up big, with 13 points, 15 rebounds, and two blocks. Theiss will have to keep it up against Toronto’s talented big men, who were expected to dominate the frontcourt battle in Game 1.
The Celtics are 7-3 against the spread in their last 10 games.
The Raptors need Pascal Siakam to recover his moxie. Siakam finished the regular season averaging 22.9 points per game on 45.3 percent shooting from the field. But so far in the playoffs, Siakam is putting up just 19.2 points per game on just 39.8 percent shooting from the floor. The Raptors may have survived the first round against just the Orlando Magic with Siakam not playing up to snuff, but Toronto definitely needs him at his best to take the Celtics down. Also, the Raptors might need to put more focus on their big men. Boston has a thinner and less experienced frontcourt than Toronto, which has Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka. Gasol only had seven points and six rebounds in 26 minutes. Meanwhile, Ibaka came off the bench and scored 15 points with three 3-pointers. Perhaps giving more shots to their biggies, especially to Gasol, could open up the offense more for Toronto.
