The Toronto Raptors are grabbing at straws in the Eastern Conference while the Boston Celtics have sat comfortably in the standings, awaiting the start of the NBA playoffs.
Placed at the No. 9 seed before Wednesday night’s matchup against the Celtics, the Raptors are in desperation mode. Despite dropping both previous contests against Boston, with a threat of a season-series sweep now in place, Toronto isn’t out of it. They already locked up a spot in the play-in tournament following a rollercoaster season of their own.
And with the possibility currently in place of crossing paths with the C’s in the postseason, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse highlighted a noticeable strength in Boston’s roster.
“I watch (the Celtics) one night, and the next night it’s three different guys starting,” Nurse told reporters pregame, according to team play-by-play announcer Sean Grande. “I think they’ve gotten used to it.”
Head coach Joe Mazzulla does have the luxury of playing around with the starting lineup, primarily due to the fact that the Celtics have a trio of starter-worthy point guards — Marcus Smart, Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon — to choose from any given night. Several members of Boston’s reserve unit — Grant Williams, Sam Hauser, Blake Griffin and Payton Pritchard — have also pitched in by stepping into starting roles on several instances when the C’s need someone to fill a void.
Meanwhile, Nurse isn’t nearly as well-positioned.
“We had a span of 15 games that I don’t even want to think about,” Nurse said, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
The Raptors are one of the lower-scoring offenses in the NBA, ranked 22nd (113.1 points) this season. They’re also the third-worst team in the league at knocking down outside shots, shooting 32% from beyond the arc while having gone 25-24 against fellow East opponents.
