TORONTO — At least one person in Toronto failed to see the similarities between the Celtics and Raptors on Friday night. Others considered it something like the NBA version of the Spiderman meme, in which two mirror images point at each other with quizzical looks. The Celtics’ versatility is what usually stands out, but this Raptors team was born in the same petri dish. Like the Celtics, they are long, can choose from a mountain of interchangeable pieces and have committed to playing lineups that can switch, morph and attack on both sides of the court.
Advertisement
“I think there’s a reason both these teams have been built this way,” said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. “As you look at the league, everybody calls it small ball. It’s not small, it’s skill ball. So they’ve got tremendous athleticism, tremendous versatility.”
There was no room to play two traditional big men together in this matchup, which Boston lost 113-101, but otherwise positions hardly mattered. Marcus Smart found himself guarding Jonas Valanciunas in the post with no help. Al Horford switched regularly onto Kawhi Leonard, trying to stifle the All-Star. The Celtics (1-1) and Raptors (2-0) each played several stretches with multiple point guards (in the traditional sense of the word). During crunch-time, Leonard and Gordon Hayward manned the spot formerly labeled as power forward. The NBA has been hurtling toward position-less basketball. As much as any club outside of the Warriors, the Celtics and Raptors have harnessed the concept of shape-shifting.
“Obviously they moved (Serge) Ibaka (last year’s power forward) to the 5 — they’re playing more like us,” Horford said. “They’re playing faster with the new NBA look. And it worked for them.”
Even Hayward compared Toronto’s style to Boston’s. It was only Celtics forward Marcus Morris who seemed insulted by the idea that the two teams share a lot in common.
“No,” Morris replied when presented with the notion. “We’re way more talented than those guys. I think they just played together a little bit more.”
Let’s let that comment hang there for just a bit in order to rave about the basketball played Friday night at Scotiabank Arena. Only quality players were allowed to step on the court. The defensive talent was overwhelming at times, but key players still managed to convert critical buckets. Not until the Celtics faltered over the final 2:53, allowing a two-point deficit to crumble into a 12 point loss, did either team gain any real separation. After such a high-level clash so early in the season, preseason prognostication that both teams could meet seven months from now in the Eastern Conference Finals will only grow.
Advertisement
Even during the Raptors’ fourth-quarter surge, the margin was slim: an inch here or there for Kyle Lowry to draw two Jayson Tatum charges; a missed boxout or three that allowed Ibaka to extend the Raptors’ possessions; a quick split-second where Hayward lost Danny Green in the corner. Lowry knocked down two long shots over the final three minutes, Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier each missed chances, and the Celtics left Canada with their seventh straight loss in the country.
“We showed a lot more signs of good than bad,” Stevens still said. “And we’ll build off that.”
The good: The Celtics knocked down 14 of 36 3-point attempts despite a slow start from that distance. They delivered 29 assists on 40 made field goals, a positive stride in an area Stevens has stressed since the preseason. Boston players whipped the ball around the perimeter with a purpose. Horford almost notched a triple-double (14 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists). Hayward played his best stretch since returning from last year’s gruesome injury, and later said he finally felt like himself for a little while. His progress matters far more than the results of any regular-season game.
The bad: The Celtics can’t seem to rid themselves of their midrange jumper reliance. They attempted 24 of the inefficient shots, almost double Toronto’s 13. Boston’s inability to finish, a major issue last season, proved to be a problem once again. The Celtics only made 14 of 30 shots (46.7 percent) from inside the restricted area, though that number was skewed slightly by the devilish time Aron Baynes had converting putback layups. Ibaka’s rebounding crushed the Celtics throughout crunch-time. Through two games, albeit against top competition, Boston owns a 98.3 offensive rating that would have finished dead last one season ago.
And, of course, the Celtics now need to deal with Leonard, who finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds, and who may be the best player in the Eastern Conference. He can shift tectonic plates at either end of the court. Even after missing a late layup, he was able to fly back to the opposite backboard to complete a rare double block of Tatum:
Kawhi Leonard & Danny Green both chase down the play! pic.twitter.com/PPD0JCuCYc
— NBA (@NBA) October 20, 2018
“The team will be better defensively, obviously,” Morris said. “Because he’s a great defensive player.”
Morris meant no disrespect to Leonard or Lowry when he called the Celtics more talented than Toronto. He values both stars’ contributions. The difference, Morris believes, comes further down the roster.
Advertisement
“Players,” Morris said matter-of-factly after Boston’s loss. “We have way more talent as far as down the line. Kawhi and K-Low, as far as talented — the other guys just play hard and play their position really well. You know what I’m saying?”
That’s dismissive of Fred VanVleet, one of the best sixth men around. It also discards the Raptors’ second unit, which finished last season as one of the NBA’s most effective lineups. It diminishes the impact of Toronto’s improved defense, which added not only Leonard but also Green, who Horford called a “really underrated defender.”
Since the summer, Stevens has been reminding reporters that the Raptors, not Boston, earned the Eastern Conference’s top seed before acquiring Leonard this summer.
“Their bench is still great,” Irving said. “They just have a superstar that you can throw the ball to any time and just go. Obviously, they [had] that in DeMar [DeRozan] and Kyle, but now you just throw it down, you can post up Kawhi every single time down and run the offense through him every single possession. But they have such great pieces around him still. It makes tough for us to guard, but we’ll be all right.”
Some within the Celtics organization wonder what would have happened in last season’s playoffs if the team had run into Toronto instead of Philadelphia during the second round. There may be an alternate universe in which former Raptors coach Dwane Casey saved his job by pummeling the injury-depleted Celtics in five games. Instead, Casey’s fate was sealed by a second-round sweep from LeBron James and the Cavaliers. Boston’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals solidified sky-high expectations.
The Celtics-Raptors series could materialize this season. Leonard may give Toronto its best team ever. Hayward and Irving, healthy now, change Boston from dangerous to scary. Beyond the new infusion of top-end talent, the Celtics and Raptors have tapped into this era’s most valuable resources. Both rosters are stocked with switchy, capable defenders. Both teams are led by All-Stars, but wear out opponents with their depth. Neither team has many holes. Both have the type of flexibility every organization wants to mine these days.
Still, Morris said before Boston’s defeat that he could not care less about what the Raptors could become. He knows Toronto added a top player in Leonard, but intends to focus on the Celtics instead.
Advertisement
“He’s a great part of their team,” Morris said, “but I don’t want them to do good. I don’t want them to be a good team.”
The accompanying laugh suggested Morris realizes he will not get his wish. He may not want the Celtics and Raptors compared directly to each other, but they’re the East’s deepest and most versatile teams.
(Top photo: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)