BOSTON — The Boston Celtics put together a very forgettable game against the Toronto Raptors the last time the two teams took the court during just the second game of the 2021-22 campaign.
The Celtics were defeated 115-83 for their second loss of the season and were booed in their home opener. Boston turned the ball over 25 times, shot below 40% from the field and failed to play with the energy that head coach Ime Udoka had been looking for.
Well, fast forward nearly three weeks and the Celtics get another chance at the Raptors at TD Garden on Wednesday night. And because of the way Boston played its last game against Toronto, Udoka is using the contest as a “measuring stick,” despite the fact the C’s with be without Jaylen Brown.
“It is,” Udoka confirmed before Wednesday’s game. “They’re a very unique team defensively, a lot of randomness, doesn’t always look like a lot of rhyme or reason to what they’re doing, but they are very aggressive going after the ball forcing turnovers. We didn’t handle it well last game — 25 turnovers for 27 points. So this is a team that you have to be strong with the ball, take care of it, knowing that they’re coming to gamble at awkward angles and from random positions.
“And they do a lot of things well, obviously. They’ve been known for years playing that way. And so they’re not the biggest team, but they make up for it with shifts, help, team defense and they’re one of the best at it,” Udoka continued. “So it’s a good measuring stick just from energy standpoint playing against these guys. That’s what they’re all about is effort, energy and, like I said, randomness. (Good) test for us, you know, we didn’t handle it well last time. I thought it was our worst effort game from an effort standpoint. So we’re looking forward to it tonight.”
Celtics-Raptors is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET.
