The Toronto Raptors make their In-Season Tournament debut against the Boston Celtics.
This will be a Group C game. The Celtics In-Season Tournament record is 1-0, while the Raptors are 0-0.
This game will count towards the teams regular season record.
The Raptors and Celtics last met on Nov. 11 as Boston came away with a 117-94 victory. Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 29 points, while Jayson Tatum chipped in with 27 points. Also, Kristaps Porzingis had 21.
Toronto struggled in this one only shooting 38 percent from the field and 27 percent from three.
The Raptors didn’t get much production from their best players. Pascal Siakam only had 17 points, O.G. Anunoby struggled with 8 points and Scottie Barnes had his worst game of the season only putting up 10 points on poor shooting numbers.
The Celtics led by as many as 30 points and the entire fourth quarter was essentially garbage time.
Then late in the fourth quarter Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla challenged a play with 3:39 left in the game with the Celtics up 27. This decision didn’t sit well with some Raptors players and Darko Rajakovic.
Dennis Schroder later called it “disrespectful” for the Celtics to do that. It’ll be interesting to see if the Raptors come out and play with a fire lit under them in response to that.
Toronto is coming off an ugly loss against the Milwaukee Bucks. They once again struggled to shoot the ball and Scottie Barnes was the only bright spot as he put up 29 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. He continues to shine in the early part of the season.
The Raptors will be without Thad Young for this one, while Gary Trent Jr. is probable and Anunoby is doubtful:
Thad Young is under the weather and won’t be available for tonight’s in-season tournament game vs Boston. Trent is listed as probable and Anunoby remains doubtful.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) November 17, 2023
Boston Celtics (9-2) vs. Toronto Raptors (5-6)
7:30 p.m. ET, Nov. 17, 2023
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
TV: TSN
Projected Raptors Starting Lineup:
PG: Dennis Schroder
SG: Gary Trent Jr.
SF: Scottie Barnes
PF: Pascal Siakam
C: Jakob Poeltl
Key Reserves: Precious Achiuwa, Chris Boucher, Malachi Flynn
Projected Celtics Starting Lineup:
PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Derrick White
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Kristaps Porzingis
Key Reserves: Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet, Payton Pritchard
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