Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways from early clash with Celtics
In just the second game of the season, the two most dominant forces in the Eastern Conference clashed, with the Toronto Raptors coming away with the home victory.
Through a second-half surge the Toronto Raptors pulled away for an impressive 113-101 victory over Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division rivals, Boston Celtics.
These two defensive stalwarts put on a clinic for the 19,000-plus fans in attendance at the Scotiabank Arena. Kawhi Leonard lead the way for Toronto with another impressive double-double, game-high 31-points and 10 rebounds, showing flashes of his MVP caliber potential.
Leading the charge for the Boston Celtics was Kyrie Irving pouring in team-high 21 points and adding six assists.
This was the first in a four-game season series between the two organizations and one that could prove vital for seeding come postseason.
The odds makers have the one of the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics or Philadelphia 76ers having the best chance to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA finals come this June and if Friday night’s game is any indication, it will come down to the team with home-court advantage will be the favorites.
On paper, these two teams match up very well against one another, both able to produce small-ball, lengthy, defensive stopping or 3-point sharpshooting lineups. When the teams are even matched, head coach adjustments are vitally important to the outcome.
Rookie head coach Nick Nurse did well in his first true test of the early season against the strategic genius of Celtics’ head coach Brad Stevens.
Nurse made the necessary adjustments in the second half, giving the pace-and-space option OG Anunoby the remaining minutes of the slashing Pascal Siakam because of how well Anunoby’s playing style fits with the starting lineup in this particular Boston matchup.
A nice progression to silencing the doubters of Nurse’s promotion to bench boss this past June.
Side Note: this pregame video is must watch hype!
https://twitter.com/YahooSportsNBA/status/1053644465070465024
The second game of the season in the books, here are three takeaways from the heavyweight clash against the Celtics.