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Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« on: September 10, 2020, 10:57:21 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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  at 
Boston Celtics (3-3)  at  Toronto Raptors (3-3)   
Friday, September 11, 2020
9:00 PM ET
Round 2 Game 7
TV: TNT, TSNN
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub, 680 News Toronto
Advent Health Arena




Probable Starters
PG SG  SF  PF  C
PG: Kemba Walker
SG:  Marcus Smart
SF:  Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C:  Daniel Theis

Celtics Reserves
Carsen Edwards
Semi Ojeleye
Brad Wanamaker
Grant Williams
Enes Kanter
Romeo Langford
Robert Williams
Tacko Fall
Tremont Waters

Injuries/NWT
Javonte Green (knee) out
Gordon Hayward (ankle) out
Victor Poirier (personal)  day to day

Head Coach

Brad Stevens


Probable Starters 
PG SG SF PF C
PG:  Kyle Lowry
SG:  Fred VanVleet
SF: OG Anunoby
PF:   Pascal Siakam
C:   Marc Gasol

Raptors Reserves

Serge Ibaka
Chris Boucher
Terence Davis
Dewan Hernandez
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
Stanley Johnson
Malcolm Miller
Norman Powell
Matt Thomas
Paul Watson

Injuries

Oshae Brissett (knee) out
Patrick McCaw (knee) out

Head Coach

Nick Nurse

Game Notes
It comes down to this one game to decide the series.   With the series tied at 3-3 after a double overtime thriller in Game 6,  the Celtics have just one chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.  Home court advantage has meant little to these teams in this series with each game going to the road team.  This could bode well for the Celtics as they are the road team for this game. 

The Celtics have had 32 Game 7's in their history and this is the most in league history.  The Celtics are 23-9 in those games.  They have played in 5 game 7's since 2011 and have won 3 of them.  Since 1980, the Celtics are 6-2 in Conference Semifinals Game 7's.  Brad Stevens is 2-1 in Game 7's in his 7 seasons with the Celtics.  The Raptors are 3-2 all time in Game 7's.

The starters for both teams played heavy minutes in Game 6.  Anunoby (49), Siakam (54), VanVleet (50), Lowry (53), Tatum (51), Brown (51), Theis 47), Smart (50), and Walker 52).  The only starter who didn't play big minutes was Gasol (16).  The Raptors played small ball quite a bit and Serge Ibaka, who was questionable going into the game with an ankle injury, played 21 minutes.   The Raptors played 8 players in Game 6 while the Celtics played 9.  The starters for both teams played through the whole second half and both overtimes. 

Gordon Hayward has cleared quarantine and is back working out with the team.  He is expected to miss this game but if the Celtics can win this one and advance, he could be available in the next series.  Vincent Poirier is still listed as day to day after leaving the bubble for the birth of his child.  Marcus Smart was pretty much battered and bruised in Game 6, several times coming up limping or holding his back.  I expect him to be available for this game.  Patrick McCaw (knee) and Oshae Brissett (knee) remain out for the Raptors.

Key Matchups
vs
Marcus Smart vs Kyle Lowry
Kyle Lowry willed his team to their 3 wins in this series.  He has played the hardest and most minutes of any player on either team.  It makes sense for Marcus Smart (1st team All Defense) to defend Lowry, who has been Toronto's best player.  Lowry said several times after Toronto's blow out loss in Game 5 that he needed to be more aggressive in Game 6 and he definitely was, putting up 33 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.  He shot 60% from the field and 60% from beyond the arc.  The Celtics must find a way to slow down Lowry if they hope to win this game. 

  vs 
Kemba Walker vs Fred VanVleet
When Kemba plays well, the Celtics play well and when Kemba struggles, the Celtics seem to struggle as well.  In Game 6, the Raptors realized this and played box and one for much of the game to limit Kemba.   Kemba struggled in Game 6, scoring just 5 points while shooting 18% from the field and 16% from beyond the arc.  He also grabbed 4 rebounds and 7 assi8sts.   VanVleet had 21 point, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists but shot just 31% from the field and 23% from beyond the arc.  The Celtics have to find a way to help Kemba get going in this game and he needs to be the leader that he came to Boston to be. 

Honorable Mention
Jaylen Brown vs Pascal Siakam
Brown has been the primary defender on Siakam for this series and has pretty much shut him down.   Jaylen has also been a difference maker on the offensive end in all but Game 4.   In Game 6, Jaylen led the Celtics with 31 points, 16 rebounds and 2 assists.  The Celtics definitely need an aggressive Jaylen Brown if they want to win this game. 

Keys to the Game
Defense

Defense is always a key to winning and especially so in this series.  Both teams have played tough defense in this series.  The Raptors have thrown the Celtics off a bit by playing zone defense and throwing different looks at them on the defensive end.   The Celtics, playing lock down defense, held the Raptors to just 11 first quarter points and just 35 points in the first half of Game 5.  If the Celtics hope to win this game, it is going to have to be with that same lock down defense.  They have to come out strong and not allow the Raptors to get anything going.  They can't give them any confidence at all. 

Rebound
Much of rebounding is effort and desire.  The Celtics have won the rebounding battle in all but one of their games against the Raptors this season and that one game that they were out rebounded was their only loss in the regular season. They have to work harder than the Raptors on the boards to grab rebounds and to convert those rebounds into points.  When the Celtics put out extra effort on the boards, it usually carries over into other parts of their game. 

Move the Ball Carefully 
The Celtics must move the ball and find the open man.  When they play hero ball, it rarely ends well.   But the Celtics must take care of the ball as the Raptors have win the turnover battle in all but one game in the series.  The Celtics had a couple of costly turnovers late in the game that could have been avoided.   They need to play team ball and they also have to continue to take care of the ball and limit their turnovers. 

Be Aggressive

The Celtics need to be the more aggressive team, as they were in Game 5.  They have to come out strong and be aggressive right from the tip and not allow the Raptors to get anything going at all.  The Celtics need to be aggressive on defense, on the boards, in going to the basket, and in diving for loose balls.  They have to be aggressive from the tip to the final buzzer and not let up.  In all 6 games so far, the Raptors have won the 3rd quarter as they come out strong and are aggressive while the Celtics let up somewhat when they come out in the 3rd quarter.  The Celtics have to stop this trend and win each and every quarter with a strong and aggressive effort. 

Focus
The Celtics must come out with a laser focus and not let their focus waiver.  They need to be focused on taking good shots,  on hitting their free throws,  on making good passes, on handling the ball without turning it over,  on playing tough lock down defense and on playing as a team.   They have to execute the game plan and play their roles to perfection.  There isn't a lot of room for error in this series and it will take laser like focus to win this game. 

X-Factors
Coaching -  The chess match continues between these two top coaches.  The last move was from Nick Nurse as he changed up his defenses and played more small ball and we should expect some adjustments from Brad Stevens for this game to counter those moves.   Brad needs to have the Celtics ready to come out strong right from the tip and be ready for in-game adjustments if Nurse changes things up.     

Game 7 and Experience - The Raptors went all the way last season and won the title.   Round 1 against Orlando ended in 5 games.  Round 2 went to 7 games against the 76ers. The Eastern Conference Finals went to 6 games against the Bucks and the Finals went to 6 games against the Warriors.  Kemba Walker has never been out of the first round in his time in Charlotte.  The Celtics young core went to 7 games in Eastern Conference Finals vs Cleveland but lost. 
This game will come down to grit, heart, guts, hustle and hard work. 
Which team will have more and be able to sustain it through 48 minutes? 

Officiating -  Officiating is always an x-factor in every game.  It's hard to tell how a crew will call the game.  They could call it tight or they could let them play.  They could try to extend the series or call it straight.  The Celtics struggled with foul trouble in Game 4 and somewhat in Game 5 with 4 on both Smart and Tatum. In Game 6, 2 starters had 5 fouls and 2 had 4 fouls with the fifth having 3 fouls.   There were several calls late in Game 6 that could have changed the ending but they weren't made.  However the game is called,  the Celtics have to keep their focus on the game and not allow the refs to sway that focus. 

Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2020, 10:57:54 PM »

Offline Ogaju

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1st GO CELTICS. Tp FLCF for a great thread

GO CELTICS BEAT The Raptors!!

Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2020, 10:58:14 PM »

Offline SparzWizard

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This is a must-win game.

Let's go C's.


#JTJB (Just Trade Jaylen Brown)
#JFJM (Just Fire Joe Mazzulla)

Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2020, 10:59:02 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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TP to Ogaju and SparzWizard for being the first to post in the game thread!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Celtics!!!!

Beat the Raptors!!!!!!!!

Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2020, 11:07:49 PM »

Offline Silas

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Let's go Cs!  Send the Raptors home.  And a TP for FLCeltsFan.
I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.   -  Mark Twain

Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2020, 11:45:12 PM »

Offline CaNdyMaN1369

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Lets Go Celtics!!!        ;D                  Beat the Raptors!!!

Prove to everyone what kind of team you really are...

TP...     FLCF...                       

Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2020, 11:45:26 PM »

Offline hpantazo

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Time for these young Celtics to take that next step to greatness by overcoming adversity and knocking off the defending champs!

Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #7 on: September 11, 2020, 12:13:19 AM »

Offline hwangjini_1

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Celtics win and advance. And flc keeps churning out these fabulous threads.

Tp one more time flc.

Goooooooooooooooooooooooooo playoff Celtics!!   ;D
I believe Gandhi is the only person who knew about real democracy — not democracy as the right to go and buy what you want, but democracy as the responsibility to be accountable to everyone around you. Democracy begins with freedom from hunger, freedom from unemployment, freedom from fear, and freedom from hatred.
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Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #8 on: September 11, 2020, 12:13:24 AM »

Offline Celtics Mike

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Just get it done Celtics !

Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #9 on: September 11, 2020, 12:22:17 AM »

Online Phantom255x

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TP FLCeltsFan!

This is it. It’s pretty straightforward. If they want to show they are championship contenders, then win Game 7. The C’s are the better team and they need to play like it. Gut feeling says Kemba redeems himself and Tatum also goes off tomorrow. Hopefully it’ll be enough for us to advance. The biggest thing though is having the same defensive intensity as Game 5. Can’t leave guys wide open like we sadly did for a chunk of Game 6 including in the OT periods.
"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller

Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #10 on: September 11, 2020, 12:28:10 AM »

Offline BringToughnessBack

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My heart and BP demand big lead early and no stress! TY

TP for the amazing thread!

Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #11 on: September 11, 2020, 01:06:16 AM »

Offline blink

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GO CELTICS!!!!!  time to silence the critics and win this series!

TP FLCeltsFan!

Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #12 on: September 11, 2020, 01:10:40 AM »

Offline tarheelsxxiii

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They're gonna win because they have a strong locker room.  Book it.  :)
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Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #13 on: September 11, 2020, 01:13:58 AM »

Offline rocknrollforyoursoul

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This is it, Celtics; no more talk, just take care of business ... or don't. It's up to you.
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Re: Celtics (3-3) at Raptors (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 9/11/20
« Reply #14 on: September 11, 2020, 01:31:52 AM »

Offline PhoSita

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Brutal loss yesterday.

After thinking about it today, and trying to move on from traumatic memories of the horrible missed / incorrect calls by the refs in game 6, I realized what I think is going to happen in game 7.

both the Celtics and the raptors played their starters a ton of minutes in game six. The Celtics do not have a bench they can lean on that has guys who have any experience carrying an offensive load in a meaningful game.  The raptors, on the other hand, have several bench players who have scored a lot of points numerous times over the course of this season, including in some big games against good opponents.

I think the raptors bench is going to make a difference in game 7, as the starters know each other so well at this point, and are super tired from last game. I think the minutes between the starters will be a rock fight, but the raptors bench is going to hit a bunch of shots and allow the raptors to pull away.

I don't want to believe that this is what will happen, but it occurred to me today and it just seemed correct.

I'm putting this here so I can be held accountable for this take later. Hopefully the raptors as a team are totally cold in game 7 and we completely trounce them, then people can dunk on me.
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