The Toronto Raptors take on the Boston Celtics at 7:00 p.m. ET at TD Garden.
The Raptors are coming off a poor offensive showing on Friday against the Washington Wizards in DC, losing 113-95.
Notably, Scottie Barnes made his preseason debut. In 20 minutes, Barnes put up 16 points and eight rebounds on 7-for-15 shooting from the field and 0-for-5 shooting from three-point range.
Obviously, there was going to be rust. Barnes did not see game action since March when he sustained his hand injury.
The expectation is he finds his groove through this exhibition schedule. Again, Immanuel Quickley remains sidelined with the hope of getting him back before opening night.
For Boston, they are coming off a blowout win on Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers, 139-89.
The Celtics had seven players in double figures with Jayson Tatum, Luke Kornet, Jaylen Brown, Xavier Tillman, Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard and Jordan Walsh.
With Boston only having two preseason games remaining, it is plausible that they rest their starters. But, their roster exhibits championship qualities seeing how every player buys into head coach Joe Mazzulla’s strategy.
Regardless, Toronto is looking to bounce back from a poor offensive showing on Friday. After shooting 35.8 percent from the field and 21.2 percent from three-point range, there needs to be positive progression.
An interesting player to continue watching is Chris Boucher. He dropped 22 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 shooting from three with seven rebounds in 18 minutes.
With head coach Darko Rajakovic unsure of Boucher’s role given the youth movement, this only makes it harder to keep him on the bench. If he can continue to bring a punch offensively off the bench, Boucher could end up being a staple in the rotation.
Toronto Raptors (1-1) vs. Boston Celtics (3-0)
7:00 p.m. EST, Sunday, October 13, 2024
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
TV: Sportsnet
Projected Raptors Starting Lineup:
PG: Davion Mitchell
SG: Ochai Agbaji
SF: Gradey Dick
PF: Scottie Barnes
C: Jakob Poeltl
Projected Celtics Starting Lineup:
PG: Derrick White
SG: Jrue Holiday
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Luke Kornet
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