GAME #32: Toronto Raptors 113 - Boston Celtics 97

[slaw]

This was pretty much a schedule loss for the C**tics... 3rd game in 4 nights and 2nd game of a B2B, but sucks to be them. And Raps had 2 days off. We’ll take it.

Raps are down 3 of their top 6 guys. Celtics are at full strength. At home. Got a very friendly whistle. I’m pretty sure they were expecting to win even on a b2b.

[Tmac2darak]

Great win for Raptors. Still have a sick taste in my mouth though.

[planetmars]

Another awesome performance from Kyle. Finally another win against a top East opponent. Nurse came in well prepared for this one. Using McCaw as a primary ball handler was a solid move. Forced Boston to have a guy on him to avoid the 4-5 scenario we faced last time around. We rebounded very well as a team. I believe we beat them in second chance point opportunities. Closed very well on their 3 pt shooting. I like how he tethered Serge to Kanter so that he wouldn't have a field day on Boucher. We prevented Brown from going off. Kemba had a decent game but he was really their only producer.

Fred was good. I think he still takes to long with the ball to make a decision at times. OG was really quiet. 15 mins and fouled out. Although that last call on him was terrible. These two guys miss Pascal more than anyone else on the team IMO. Pascal frees OG and Fred to become 3&D players. Roles that they are both really good at.

Great energy again from the bench. Boucher especially. I'm always happy to see TD on the floor. He has a way of making plays out of nothing. Brichette really came to play. Outside of Kemba cooking him to get a 3 before the buzzer, and a bad foul when they were in the penalty.. he was a positive.

Foul disparity was bad, but it was Tony Brothers. The guy calls everything, and then nothing. He's one of the worst refs. The guy needs to retire. I don't think there was any malice towards the Raps.. just a really incompetent ref. The refs even called a blocking foul on Lowry early on that Nurse challenged. I mean that was so obviously a charge.

The Celtics were on a tough schedule there.. but the Raps must be pretty tired too. That Christmas game was their 3rd in 4 nights (more like 3.5 nights). So I guess it evens out. Can't believe we have another back to back. WTF?

Overall a great win.. one we really needed.

[big boi]

Great win. Another brilliant performance from Lowry. One man wrecking crew.

[golden]

Nurse is next level. In the post-game he said they pretty much changed everything on both sides of the ball, since the Xmas game. For a coaching staff to be able to do that and break it down in a simple way for the players to execute with probably just 1 practice, is really impressive. Putting McCaw on the ball was a risky, but great move to force the Celtics to guard him instead of killing our spacing.

And Brissett's energy came at a critical point when the Celtics had some hope, but offensive rebounds are truly deflating. Brissett looks a lot like an RHJ clone. Every team wants shooting, but energy guys like Tristan Thompson and Montrezl Harrell who can consistently get offensive rebounds and put-backs have a vastly underrated NBA skill, IMO.

[DanH]

Quite a move from Nurse putting the ball in McCaw's hands so much and saving the offence from the lack of spacing he represents off ball. Great payoff. McCaw is looking downright viable offensively and him handling the ball as a bench guard would be great for lineups that need exactly that. We'll have to see if it holds up as this gets scouted, but it's at least way better than him mucking up the spacing with poorly timed cuts and passing up shots. Really looked aggressive yesterday.

The defence... Still problematic. But that offensive performance was miraculous so at this point it's hard to say any Raptor can't do something. Kudos to Nurse finding a way with Pat.

Brissett looked fantastic. Boucher was great. Lowry continues to be a star in Pascal's absence. Awesomely fun game and great bounce back win.