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Toronto Raptors (23-15) at Boston Celtics (23-13)
Friday, January 9, 2026
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #37  Home Game #18
TV:  NBCSB, Sportsnet, NBA-LP
Radio:  98.5 Sports Hub,TSN 1050, Sirius XM
TD Garden


Possible Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Derrick White vs Immanuel Quickley

Shooting Guard
vs
Payton Pritchard vs Brandon Ingram

Small Forward
vs  
Jaylen Brown vs RJ Barrett

Power Forward
  vs 
Sam Hauser vs Scottie Barnes

Center
vs
Neemias Queta vs Collin Murray-Boyles

Celtics Reserves
Anfernee Simons
Hugo Gonzalez
Xavier Tillman
Jordan Walsh
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
Chris Boucher

2-Way Players
Ron Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams

Injuries/Out
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Josh Minott  (ankle) questionable

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla

Raptors Reserves
Jamison Battle
Gradey Dick
Sandro Mamukelshvili
Jonathan Mogbo
Jamal Shead
Garrett Temple
Ja'Kobe Walter

Two-Way Players
Chucky Hepburn
AJ Lawson
Alijah Martin

Injuries/Out
Scottie Barnes (knee)  questionable
Brandon Ingram (thumb) questionable
Chucky Hepburn (knee)  questionable
Jakob Poeltl (back) out

Head Coach
Darko Rajakovic

Game Notes
The Celtics continue their home stand with a visit from division rival Toronto Raptors.  This is the 3rd of 4 meetings between these two teams this season.  The Celtics won 121-113 on December 7 in Toronto and 112-96 on December 20, also in Toronto.  The Celtics have won their last 7 games against the Raptors in Boston. 

The Celtics won the series 3-1 last season, losing one game in Toronto.  This is the first of back to back games for the Celtics.  They will host the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.  They are 3-3 on the first night of back to back games this season.  The Celtics are 75-43 overall all time and they are 44-14 in games played in Boston. 

The Celtics are 3rd in the East, 4.5 games behind 1st place Detroit, and half a game behind 2nd place New York. They are 1 game ahead of 4th place Toronto, 2.5 games ahead of 5th place Philadelphia, and 3 games ahead of 6th place Orlando. The Celtics are 16 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 11-6 at home and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are coming off a loss in their last game. 

The Raptors are 4th in the East,5.5 games behind first place Detroit, 1.5 games behind 2nd place New York, and 1 game behind 3rd place Boston.  They are 1.5 games ahead of 5th place Philadelphia  and 2 games ahead of 6th place Orlando.   The Raptors are 20-10 against Eastern Conference opponents.  They are 11-7 on the road and 6-4 in their last 10 games.  They are coming off a win in their last game. 

This is the third game of a 4 game home stand for the Celtics. They started the home stand with a win over Chicago and a loss to Denver and will host San Antonio to complete the home stand. They will then go on a 4 game road trip through Indiana, Miami, Atlanta and Detroit. They will then play one game at home against Indiana before playing Brooklyn and Chicago on the road. They will then have another 4 game home stand against Portland, Atlanta,, Sacramento and Milwaukee.

This is the second straight road game for the Raptors.  They won at Charlotte on Wednesday.  They will return home to play 2 games against Philadelphia and then play at Indiana, and home against the Clippers before a 5 game road trip through the LA Lakers, Golden State, Sacramento, Portland and Oklahoma City. 

Jayson Tatum remains out as he rehabs from the Achilles tear.  Josh Minott will miss his second straight game due to an ankle sprain.  Jakob Poeltl is out due to a back injury.  Scottie Barnes left Wednesday's game with a knee sprain but returned to finish the game.  He is listed as questionable for this game.  Brandon Ingram left Wednesday's game with a sprained thumb and is questionable for this game.  Chucky Hepburn is out with a knee injury.  I'm going to assume that Ingram and Barnes will play, but their status is a game time decision.

Key Matchups
vs
Payton Pritchard vs Brandon Ingram
Ingram is averaging 21.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 47.4% from the field and 34.9% from beyond the arc.  In the 2 games against the Celtics this season, he averaged 27 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists while shooting 56.8% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.  Ingram is questionable.  If he can't play, Ochai Agbaji will likely start in his place. 

  vs 
Sam Hauser vs Scottie Barnes
Barnes is averaging 19.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 50.4% from the field and 34.7% from beyond the arc.  In the 2 games against the Celtics this season, he averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game.  Barnes is questionable and if he can't play, Battle or Mamukelashvili may get the start. 

Honorable Mention
Jaylen Brown vs RJ Barrett
Barrett is averaging 19.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 50% from the field and 34.5% from beyond the arc.  He didn't play in either of the 2 games the Celtics played in Toronto.   

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is the most important key to winning.   The Celtics are 15th in the league with a defensive rating of 114.5. The Raptors are 3rd with a defensive rating of 111.7. The Celtics have played good defense off and on but they still are not consistent on that end. They must stay committed to playing tough, lock down defense, especially against a Raptors team that plays good defense themselves.  The Celtics must especially defend in the paint as the Raptors put up 52.6 points in the paint per game.

Rebound - As with defense, rebounding will always be a key to winning every game.  The Celtics are 16th with 44.4 rebounds per game.  The Raptors are 21st with 43.4 rebounds per game.   The Celtics will need to rebound as a team with players crashing the boards from every position.  The Celtics can't score without the ball and rebounding is a great way to get the ball and to get extra possessions and to also deny the Raptors extra possessions and 2nd chance points.

Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics are at their best when the ball moves and they make the extra pass. When the ball sticks and players try to do too much, the Celtics struggle. They are 12-0 this season when they have the same or more assists than their opponent and they are 10-14 when they have fewer assists than their opponent. On Wednesday against the Nuggets, they had just 16 assists.  The Raptors are 4th with 29.1 assists per game.  But, the Celtics have to make careful passes and not get sloppy because the Raptors average 18.7 points off turnovers ( and 19.4 fast break points per game (1).

Play with Energy and Focus for 48 Minutes - The Celtics must play with effort and energy and they have to play harder than the Raptors for all 4 quarters.  The team that plays the hardest and with more energy will usually get the win.  They also must stay focused on taking good shots and making them.  If the 3's are falling, they are tough to beat. But, if the 3's aren't falling, as they haven't in some recent games, it can get ugly and so the Celtics need to focus on taking the best shots, whether that means shooting more 3's or taking the ball into the paint if they aren't falling.   

Home Game - The Celtics are once again home and they should get a boost from the home crowd. This is their third straight home game so they have the benefit of not having to travel. The Raptors are playing in the 2nd straight game on the road and may be a little road weary. They also have the distractions of travel, staying in hotels, and playing in front of a hostile crowd.

Officiating - The officiating can always be an x-factor. Every crew calls the game differently.  Some call it tight with a lot of fouls while others let them play and let a lot of contact go. Jaylen Brown once again complained about the officiating after Wednesday's game.  The Celtics have to adapt to how the game is being called and not allow bad calls and no calls to take away their focus on playing the game.