How we see it goin' down: Celtics vs Raptors

Tip: 7:30 pm Court: TD Garden Watch it: CSNNE Hear it: 98.5

Referees: Bill Kennedy, Leroy Richardson, Justin Van Duyne

Spread: BOS -1 O/U 205.o

The Matchup


Record: 1-2	Record: 3-1
At home: 1-0	On road: 1-1
Streak:L2	Streak:W1

Leaders	Leaders
Buckets: Jeff Green (23.0 ppg)	Buckets: DeMar DeRozan (21.8 ppg)
Boards: Rajon Rondo (8.7 rpg)	Boards: Amir Johnson (7.5 rpg)
Dimes: Rajon Rondo (11.7 apg)	Dimes: Kyle Lowry (5.8 apg)

For the Stat Geeks:	For the Stat Geeks:
Offensive Rating: 104.8 (13th NBA)	Offensive Rating: 108.2 (7th NBA)
Defensive Rating:106.2 (22nd NBA)	Defensive Rating: 104.0 (20th NBA)
Pace:102.8 (2nd NBA)	Pace: 95.5 (15th NBA)

Last time

Toronto took the season series in 2013-14, 3-1, including a 93-87 spoiler of Brad Stevens’ NBA debut on opening night at the Garden. All four contests were decided by 10 points or less, including a 88-83 win in January that snapped one of the Celtics’ season-high, nine-game losing streaks and two Raptors Ws in consecutive games in March, which contributed to a second nine-game losing streak.

This time

Get it to: Jared Sullinger. Just feels like a Sully kind of night. If Jonas Valanciunas is marking him, Sully can both beat him off the dribble facing the basket, and can use his footwork to score on him in the post. Through three games Sullinger’s connected on only one of his three point attempts. With the way he fired from deep in the pre-season, tonight could be the night where the lid comes off the basket.

Gotta stop: Other than Drake’s fair-weather fandom? Kyle Lowry. While DeRozan is Toronto’s go-to scoring option, Lowry is the engine that makes the Raptors go. He’s at his best when frenetically driving and either finishing at the rim or kicking to DeRozan and Terrence Ross for threes. He’ll provide another test to the Celtics’ much talked about perimeter defense. Where the Celtics will really need to contain him, however, is on the defensive end. Lowry is at his all-around best when his defense (he’s a beast at planting himself for charges and forcing turnovers) fuels his offense. When he’s fully engaged, he’s an absolute handful. If the Celtics’ backcourt can neutralize him, he’s prone to disengage and take nights off.

The Wild Card: Marcus Thornton. The Celtics haven’t played a wire-to-wire close game yet this season, and in what feels likely to be a hotly contested divisional match-up, Thornton’s instant-offense off the bench could prove to be a difference maker. The Raptors have a couple of microwave-type scorers off the bench in Greivis Vasquez and Lou Williams. Thornton may get into a heat-check battle with either one and whoever can give their second-unit a bigger boost could ultimately help decide the game.