The Celtics come into tonight’s game against Toronto missing one of their key performers in Avery Bradley.
Not only is he the team’s best perimeter defender, but he’s also the Celtics’ No. 2 scorer to Isaiah Thomas.
And while not having Bradley will certainly impact the Celtics at both ends of the floor, his replacement, Marcus Smart, has done a solid job in his absence, which includes a season-high 22 points in a 117-108 win over New Orleans on Saturday.
“For sure one of our main guys is down, but the next man is going to have to step up,” said Boston’s Jae Crowder. “And we’re very capable of doing it. We’ll have to do it collectively on the defensive end and be locked in on the scouting report.”
Here are a few key factors in Tuesday night’s game that in some shape or form, may be talked about or addressed in some capacity on the actual scouting report.
THE 3-POINT SHOT
Whichever team does the better job at handling 3’s will probably win. Both Boston and Toronto rank among the top seven teams in 3-point shooting with the Raptors No. 3 on 38.6 percent shooting while the Celtics are seventh at 36.9 percent. Defending the 3-point shot is where the Celtics have the edge. They limit teams to connecting on 34.4 percent of their 3’s, which ranks fourth in the league, while the Raptors’ 3-point defense allows opponents to shoot 35.7 percent, which ranks 14th in the league.
Boston Celtics
KEEP SIDE DISHES COOL
Dealing with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan will keep the Celtics defenders quite busy tonight, but you know in the end those guys will find a way to score. It’s the supporting cast around them that could be a major problem if the Celtics aren’t ready to handle them. We saw in Boston’s 101-94 loss to Toronto last month how Norm Powell took over at times and finished with an impressive 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting to go with a game-high five steals.
X-FACTOR NEEDS TO EMERGE
Both teams have a handful of core players who you know will show up and play a decent game. But for Boston to come away victorious, someone not so high on the scouting report has to emerge. I’m going with that guy being Gerald Green. He’s averaging 9.0 points per game in January, which has been his best scoring month this season. Also, keep an eye on Jaylen Brown and Jonas Jerebko. Both are likely to see action as well.
KEEP IT CLOSE
Toronto has been really good most of this season, but close games have not been kind to them. Despite their impressive record overall (24-13), the Raptors have had their problems putting teams away in close, down-to-the-wire finishes. The Raptors have had 11 games decided by five points or less this season and their record in such games is 5-6. Meanwhile, the Celtics have had 13 games decided by five points or less and have put together a solid 8-5 record in such games.
FOURTH-QUARTER TAKEOVER
Tonight’s game features two of the NBA’s best when it comes to taking over a game in the fourth quarter. Isaiah Thomas averages 9.5 points in the fourth quarter, second only to Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook (9.7). Toronto’s Kyle Lowry is right behind him, coming in at No. 3 with a 7.8 points per game in the fourth, which ranks third in the NBA. In the fourth, Thomas is shooting 43.9 percent on 3-pointers, which is tops among players averaging at least seven points scored in the fourth. Lowry doesn’t shoot the ball as well (38.8 percent, fourth among players averaging seven or more points in the fourth quarter), but he averages one 3 made in the fourth, which leads all players.