The Boston Celtics will be without Enes Kanter for their home opener against the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
For a frontcourt that’s already rather slim in terms of defensive upside, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka should provide some tough matchups for Boston.
Daniel Theis likely could get the start, but he’s still pretty undersized, especially when facing Gasol and Ibaka, two strong centers. Vincent Poirier didn’t play in Wednesday’s opener, but the Frenchman certainly would give Boston some size.
The 7-footer is big enough to match up with Gasol, but would probably struggle with how well Ibaka moves. That would then call in Robert Williams, whose athletic, rim-running ways could combat Ibaka better than the other Celtics bigs.
Williams was one of Boston’s bright spots in Philadelphia, so it’d be nice to see him take another step forward against Toronto’s veteran frontcourt.
The Celtics and Raptors are set to tip off at 7 p.m. ET.
