Celtics-Raptors preview: Can Boston's run of stunners continue?

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BOSTON – The top two teams in the Eastern Conference face off tonight at the TD Garden when the Celtics host the Toronto Raptors.

But the team that Boston will send on to the floor tonight, isn’t really their team.

I love Terry Rozier’s game, but he ain’t Kyrie Irving.

Jayson Tatum has been one of the top three rookies this season, but a healthy Gordon Hayward would make tonight’s matchup a lot more intriguing.

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Go down the line and it’s easy to find reasons why the Boston Celtics shouldn’t win tonight.

But who’s willing to bet against this team now?

They have shown a complete disregard for doing the predictable which when you lose key players, is supposed to mean a lot of losses.

Instead of setbacks, this cut-and-paste crew of end-of-the-bench Celtics players has cut up all sorts of competition, from the NBA’s poor performers (Sacramento, Phoenix) to its playoff-bound (Portland and Utah most recently) clubs.

And that is why, despite Toronto being an overwhelming favorite to win tonight, would anyone be surprised if Boston came away with the win?

“Brad’s been a good coach ever since he came into the league,” one NBA scout texted NBC Sports Boston. “But what he’s done with this team lately … give that man the coach of the year award and call it a day!”

Toronto’s Dwane Casey has performed well enough to where he’s also prominently placed in the Coach of the year discussion, leading the Raptors to a potential top seed in the East for the first time in their history, a run of success that’s led by their all-star backcourt of Kyle Lowry and MVP candidate DeMar DeRozan and supported by a bench that has exceeded all expectations this season.

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Those were some of the factors that seemed to be at play during Boston’s recent west coast trip that included games at Portland – one of the hottest teams at the time – and ended at Utah which is always a difficult place to win regardless of who is healthy.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were key performers as has been the case most of this season.

But in the win at Portland, Greg Monroe came off the bench for a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Guerschon Yabusele has spent a large chunk of the season with Boston’s Gatorade League team in Maine and has played sparingly when on the floor for the Celtics. But good things were happening whenever he was on the floor against the Blazers. He had five points in 17 minutes with an impressive plus/minus of +11 which was the second-best plus/minus for Boston.

In Boston’s 97-94 win at Utah, Boston’s unlikely victory was once again fueled by some unlikely characters.

Semi Ojeleye didn’t miss a shot against the Jazz before finishing with seven points, but his biggest play of the game was his only assist, to Brown, whose 3-pointer would prove to be the game-winner for Boston.

Rozier had missed all seven of his shot attempts through the first three quarters of play, only to come alive in the fourth which is when he scored 11 of his 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting.

It seems no matter who the opponent, no matter how dire the circumstances may be, this Boston Celtics team finds a way to play at a level that gives them a legit shot at winning every time they step on the floor.

And tonight will once again be a game in which the Celtics, injury-riddled as always, have no business winning.

But at this point, who’s willing to bet against them?

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