Celtics vs. Raptors Preview — Who Gets Toronto’s Offense Going?

Jamal Shead put up 20 points and 11 assists against Memphis, and Toronto still finished with 102. Now the Raptors face a Boston team that’s held three of its last four opponents to 101 points or fewer. With Scottie Barnes ruled out with a groin injury and Immanuel Quickley listed as questionable with a hamstring injury, watch who gets Toronto into its next action when Boston takes away the first option.

Toronto needs more possessions like Shead’s

Shead had help in Monday’s 118–102 loss to Memphis. RJ Barrett scored 19, and Jakob Poeltl and Jamison Battle each had 18. Shead’s 11 assists show how he can get others involved. Against Boston, the challenge is to keep the ball moving when the first pass fails to create an opening, before the shot clock leaves Toronto settling for whatever it can get.

The DraftKings snapshot had Boston favored by 7.5 with a total of 216.5. The Celtics’ last three road wins came by at least 20 points, with Charlotte scoring 80, Milwaukee 97 and Philadelphia 101. The preceding home win over Milwaukee shows how much Boston’s own scoring matters. The Celtics held the Bucks to 102 that night and won by seven. If Toronto can make Boston work for its points, it has a way to keep the margin close even on a tough night for its offense.

A quiet night for one offense can still produce points

Boston scored 119 at Charlotte and 123 at Philadelphia, but those games finished at 199 and 224 combined. Eight of Boston’s 11 games this season have gone under their own posted totals. The Philadelphia game shows why the score on both ends matters at 216.5. Toronto’s loss to Memphis makes the same point from the other side. The Raptors scored 102 and the game still reached 220. Alongside who creates for Toronto, watch whether the Raptors can string together enough stops to keep Boston from carrying the scoring.

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NFLTomorrow · 8:15 PM EST

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