2020 Playoffs Round 2 Game 1 C*#^tics at Raptors Thursday August 27 6:30pm on (TBA)

[Jclaw]

To paraphrase a certain favourite song of Nick's,
Boston and Toronto.
It's been years in the making.

If you've been around for a while you know that there is just something about Boston and Toronto.
If you've been around long enough you may remember when their team name became a swear word.
No matter the sport, there has never been a need to exaggerate the distaste between these two.
One way or another, we've always been connected.

But we've only been able to hurl insults from afar.
No longer

But we know something about "years in the making".
Our championship was 25 years in the making.

And yet, after reaching that peak, we are still getting better.
Longest win streak...best season winning %....first playoff sweep...all this year.
Not to mention..

How d'ya like them apples?
So I think we'll be ready for this.

But there's something to address first

I was going to hold off on this thread until we had a better idea about the status of KLOE.
Really, what is a Raps/C's series without Kyle goading Smart into a technical foul or two?
But it sounds like there won't be much of an official word other than "sprain" for a while.
In the meantime, let's hope for the best.

Kyle is another one that has been years in the making.
That has made him our current longest tenured Raptor.
Remember this guy?

So let's get things started.
Here are the C*^#tics
(full disclaimer..as noted above we have played these guys a lot so some of these may have shown up before)

PG

SG

SF

(glad I'm done with french versions of green)

PF

C

Even with winning a championship,
it still feels weird to see this.

But, also not that weird.
Because we're the Champs.
And we're good.
That's a feeling that has been many years in the making.

Bring it on.

Can't say it better than this

Go Raps

[S.R.]

Fuck Boston. Let's go Raptors!

[planetmars]

Still have some nightmares from the one bubble loss/spanking we got earlier. But I think we can win. Going with Raps in 6. Kemba in my opinion is far more dangerous than Tatum is. Stop Kemba and we'll be fine.

[007]

I feel like the key will be the play of Gasol and Ibaka. If we can beat them inside that should tip the scales in our favor

[S.R.]

I feel like the key will be the play of Gasol and Ibaka. If we can beat them inside that should tip the scales in our favor

This plus Raptors' depth. Boston relies HEAVILY on Tatum/Brown/Kemba for their scoring, they get next to nothing from the remaining guys. Toronto has a legit 7 who can put up 20+ any given night. Does Boston have the bodies for that? Meanwhile Toronto has very good defenders at each of Tatum/Brown/Kemba positions to throw at them & I'm really looking forward to Nurse breaking out some janky schemes.

Which is the other Toronto advantage: Nurse >>>>>>> Stevens

[DanH]

Raps in 6.

[G__Deane]

I feel like the key will be the play of Gasol and Ibaka. If we can beat them inside that should tip the scales in our favor

I just want to see Gasol cram one down in anger once in my remaining life

[G__Deane]

Paul Pierce is just so punchable....I would count knocking off the Celtics as higher value than the Bucks or Philly.
The only higher would be lakers in the finals.

[golden]

I feel like the key will be the play of Gasol and Ibaka. If we can beat them inside that should tip the scales in our favor

Yeah, this might be the right time to bust out the Jumbo Lineup with OG at the 2.

[DanH]

Yeah, this might be the right time to bust out the Jumbo Lineup with OG at the 2.

Don't like that defensively against the Celts. If there are stretches where we are tossing a zone at them anyway, or they have multiple bench players in the game, might be worth a shot.

[Rudy Bargnani]

Oh snap. Boycott talk.

[S.R.]

Oh snap. Boycott talk.

Yeah, we'll see. I guess it could maybe contribute the outcome they're looking for? Would need to gain steam outside of the NBA. Most immediate impact will be on the players and fans, definitely a 'preaching to the choir' element there. But the frustration is understandable - a Biden/Harris ticket is not going to do anything on this front unless there's a much bigger push than what's happening now. Which is saying something. And that's assuming Trump isn't back in office.

[Sonny]

I saw that. So what happens if they boycott? Does the NBA move the game? I can’t see the NBA awarding the Celtics a victory....

[MixxAOR]

I saw that. So what happens if they boycott? Does the NBA move the game? I can’t see the NBA awarding the Celtics a victory....

Celtics were discussing boycott as well. So it could be a forfeit game

[slaw]

Celtics were discussing boycott as well. So it could be a forfeit game

Who are they boycotting by refusing to play? ESPN and TNT? The fans? The NBA?

Edit: Maybe I'm being pedantic but it goes to the question of what any of this will accomplish. Nothing is happening now before the election in November federally (the Dems won't give Trump a win on this and the Reps won't go far enough for the Dems to say yes anyway), you've got 50 states that are all completely different and literally hundreds of cities and most of the latter are so poorly run they can't even collect garbage on time, let alone deal with complex public policy issues. Sorry, but two NBA teams not playing a game that about million or so Americans would watch anyway isn't going to do anything.