One – It was not an easy victory. The Celtics were few of the four beginners, but they played with the intensity and performance of a team that was fully determined to win their 24th win in the last 28 games. Boston was ahead early, Toronto was behind on every loose ball and it took a brave effort from the Raptors and a superstar performance from their captain to get the game in overtime. Also, one can not fail to mention how badly the game went, which contributed to the overall disappointment and relief in the victory.
Two – Pascal Shiakam continues to support the All-NBA with 40 points and 13 rebounds. Shiakam was relentless against the Celtics, repeatedly going downhill and toasting anyone who put a stop to the Celtics. The basis of the Boston defense is the change of match to keep the ball on the perimeter, while sending help to the color, and worked against all the other players in the Raptors, but Shiakam was not discouraged. With the Raptors losing four points in the last minute, Siakam used a spin to pass around Daniel Theis for a basket through heavy contact, and then went down against Aaron Nesmith for two free throws which he knocked down to force the extension. Then, in overtime, it was Shiakam who scored a shot and scored a mid-distance pull-up that ended up as the basket for the win.
Three – Shiakam’s effort almost failed with a foul. Shiakam played with a foul all night, where the difference between the contact that started compared to the physicality that went unpunished against him was as if Shiakam was playing two sports at the same time. However, his aggression remained high despite playing for most of the fourth quarter and extra time with five fouls, including an extra block. Shiakam ended up committing a foul on a loose ball, where he hit Grant Williams and there was real contact. But the ball was only loose in the first place, because Thad Young was paved in the previous pass, which is just one of the many loud decisions of the referees. Consider this: Shiakam made 29 shots and scored 16 goals from home side in color, however he only got one extra free kick from Williams, who is the fifth choice for the Celtics.
Four – The refereeing was outrageously bad. No one has high standards for NBA refereeing, but that was marginally scandalous. Boston had double free throws and half fouls against them, while two Raptors players ended up committing fouls, while not a single Celtic was even from a distance. The last foul against Shiakam happened only because Yang was on a stretcher. Scottie Barnes was eliminated on a Marcus Smart flop after his teammate set up a moving screen. And Nick Nurse could not save anyone with his challenge, because he had to burn it to overturn a strange goalkeeper call made by referee Evan Scott, who was the farthest referee in a clear chase from Precious Achiuwa.
Five – Boston’s defense strategy presents a unique challenge. The Celtics change most of the action and force the teams to play in isolation and are usually willing to concede three-pointers from the top sending help from the perimeter to dig the ball. The end result is that teams have to play a lot of isolation basketball to chase discrepancies, which will burden the attack. Shiakam was great in his match, but no one else could create. In the middle of the night, the Raptors will shoot more than three percent, but in the end this is the defense style used by most teams in the playoffs.
Six – Thad Young was impressive when he needed to be. Young played the entire fourth quarter and extra time, and repeatedly played the right games on both ends. Young nailed two three-pointers in the quarter and hit a runner against a short clock while gaining two offensive rebounds. Defensively, Young picked up the block that saves the game on Marcus Smart’s walk twice with 30 seconds left and had another important game to beat Daniel Tace in overtime. In the midst of all this, Young received many blows, but the 33-year-old veteran was still able to be cool in the room, playing game after game. In these intense games, the value of an experienced player who is not rattled is invaluable. It is very indicative that Nurse chose to close with Young before the newer legs in Precious Achiuwa and Chris Boucher.
Seven – Fred VanVleet is clearly not himself, but he always has a clutch play up his sleeve. VanVleet struggled all night as he continued to struggle with a difficult right knee, but gave the team the will to revive in the fourth quarter with threes behind the back. Prior to that series, VanVleet fell into the hands of Payton Pritchard in a closeout without any official calls, which won him ears from VanVleet to the floor. Where VanVleet’s injury is most notable is when he gets into the paint, where he is already competing due to his height, but the complete lack of burst and jump ability leaves the kick-out pass as his only choice.
Eight – The Nurse said she was surprised Gary Trent Jr. was available to play and then leaned on him for 37 minutes. The Nurse said that Trent Jr. was not moving freely in practice, but when the time came for the revelation, Trent Jr. was in the starting lineup and returned to close at the end. Trent Jr. froze the game with a pair of deliberate fouls, resulting in three steals and a quarter in extra time stolen by the referees, but clearly was not at his best. At one point, Trent Jr. hit his finger again and grabbed the string, which may explain the times he mishandled the ball. Trent Jr. is a rhythm player who has consistently bad shots on his return to the starting line-up, but is out of the system after a few games.
Nine – The nurse was left in a strict rotation of eight people. Could have kept Armoni Brooks in rotation to keep low minutes for Trent Jr. and VanVleet, who are both forwards, or could have even played Brooks in two guards to boost the team’s sad shot, but stuck with the key players. Then the rotation was reduced to just five players, as Trent Jr. and Achiuwa were re-introduced only due to player fouls. This is a preview of how the playoffs will go, as the Raptors really only trust their eight when everyone is healthy. They are the starting five, with three strikers in Young, Achiuwa and Boucher coming off the bench in tough games.
Ten – The Raptors’ preferred starting line-up is now a minus in the season. It’s not entirely fair to judge the team when three of the five in Anunoby, VanVleet and Trent Jr. It is known that they treat injuries, but this trend extends to December. Although the team includes five players who can all create their own shot and score 20 points on a regular basis, there is this impression that they are less than the sum of their parts, which is in stark contrast to what the Raptors were all season. Ironically, for a team that is almost entirely made up of forwards, its core is the smallest group to which the Raptors regularly turn. This lack of length, combined with the unrelated nature of the attack, where all five players feel it is their turn to attack, leaves something to be desired.
