Celtics (2-2) at Raptors (2-2) Round 2 Game 5 9/7/20

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Would anyone else take Anunoby over Siakim 10/10 times? I don't know why I feel that way. When he plays, he always looks in control. He's so athletic. He's always in the right position defensively and is annoyingly effective in a relatively small role right now.

Anunoby would be a great fit on our team. He’s played better than Siakam this series. People forget he didn’t plY in playoffs last season.

I disagree with this take. I usually love players who're generally classified as "role players", but Siakam is excellent in a reduced role offensively. This is somewhat similar to the PJ Tucker/Draymond Green comparisons in this forum - PJ can "approximate" what Draymond does, but Draymond is in a different universe when you look at how good both players are at the things they do.

Yeah, I definitely don't think OG is superior to Siakam. On this team I'd prefer OG, because of his efficiency and he doesn't require touches. But on teams that aren't stacked with a handful of All-Star calibre players (most any other team) Siakam is the guy

I'd actually prefer Siakam on good teams, people seem to forget how efficient he was in that second/third option role last season (+6% rTS!) with limited ballhandling opportunities (the majority of his attacks were quick jabs that came from off-ball stuff), ntm his defence was All-League worthy.

Well yeah, if there was a genuine MVP calibre player alongside him I think he'd be good. Would fit in the two LAs really well. It's when he's the man on a team that I think he struggles, or when he's on a team with guys of similar calibre (Lowry).

Might just be Brown's excellent defence that has lowered his colours in my eyes though

I didn’t say he was better player than Siakam. I said he has played better than him this series so far. Hardly a controversial take.

Don't get me wrong. Siakim is a good player. I know he had a good playoffs last year, but I think the Siakim we've seen over the last half of this season and the playoffs is who he is. I don't think his defense is as good as people think. He is long and active, which makes him a good defender, but his instincts aren't great and his positioning is average. Teams figured out how he liked to got to the basket and he immediately became dramatically less efficient. He has little rhythm on his moves and his jumpshot is all over the place (left, right, long, short).

Still, he's a 18-20ppg scorer with good efficiency and solid defense on a good NBA team (or a 20+ scorer with meh efficiency and a little less solid defense on a good NBA team). That's a really high level player. I'm not saying Siakim is trash or anything like that.

But now, maybe you can see what I am saying. I think Anunoby's ceiling is much higher than that. His shooting form is not perfect yet, but it is much, much better than I thought it would (I'm an IU fan). Anunoby's defense is better than Siakim's. It's better than Jaylen Brown's or Tatum's. It's better than Smart's. He hasn't quite got to this level yet, but I see him in the same realm as young Kawhi on defense.

I like how Anunoby carries himself too. He doesn't seem to get too high or too low. He's in control. He's focusing on the details.

I willingly admit I haven't seen the ball-handling that he would need to become a better offensive player than Siakim, but I really like his approach to the game. If I had to choose (not just for the Cs, but for any team) whether to pick Anunoby or Siakim, I'd pick Anunoby 10/10. If, for example, the Raptors called the Warriors offering Siakim for Wiggins and 2, if I were the Warriors, I would counter for Anunoby and Powell or something like that.

In the bolded area, did you mean that his defense WASN'T better than Brown's, Tatum's and Smart's defense? Because if you think Anunoby's defense is better than those three guys, I have to seriously question how you are evaluating him. Smart will be a 1st team All-Defense once again and both Brown and Tatum are just on the cusp of being put on All-Defense teams, especially Brown. I think these playoffs have given Brown the national exposure showcasing his defense and so next year could well be an All-Defense guy.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I think Anunoby is a bad defender. He is quite good. I just don't think he is as good as Boston's trio of defenders.

I said what I meant. I've heard many NBA coaches say the same thing about Anunoby.

I am not seeing that. As Somebody said, that's a serious hot take. And I would love to see the quotes from coaches saying Anunoby is a better defender than not only Brown and Tatum, but especially Smart, a 1st team All-Defense guy that is widely acknowledged to be the best guard defender in the league who can shut down players 1-4.

I think I heard this article quoted in a podcast, but I don't have a subscription to see what exactly it says. Can anyone post?

https://theathletic.com/1892238/2020/07/01/anonymous-nba-coaches-poll-best-defenders/

He's probably the game's best iso defender and quickly becoming a great team rotation defender.

He's done an excellent job on both Tatum and Brown this series, but I credit CBS with their offensive sets that have still allowed both to produce, albeit not at the level of efficiency that we are used to.

[Vermont Green]

I would not say that the Celtics played great.  It was more about Toronto playing bad.  I know that how the Celtics play impacts how Toronto plays but if I was the coach, I would make sure that the Celtics were not satisfied with the way they played in this game.

It seemed to me, against the zone, they were more productive when they penetrated off dribble vs just setting up for 3-pt shots.  I think they have things they should work on.  They can beat Toronto but I expect them to be better, meaning the Celtics will need to be better to close them out.

[Donoghus]

Possibly big news.

Brian Robb
@BrianTRobb
 · 25m
Serge Ibaka is in a walking boot after twisting his ankle in Game 5. He says he's unsure about his availability for Game 6.

[hpantazo]

Possibly big news.

Brian Robb
@BrianTRobb
 · 25m
Serge Ibaka is in a walking boot after twisting his ankle in Game 5. He says he's unsure about his availability for Game 6.

Yeah, not sure if I can believe it, but if so, that's huge. He's been the guy keeping them in this series imo.

https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-boston-celtics-serge-ibaka

[hpantazo]

This is what I thought of when I saw this play, and now the Heartbreak Kid himself has confirmed it:

https://twitter.com/ShawnMichaels/status/1303315861218955264

[footey]

Possibly big news.

Brian Robb
@BrianTRobb
 · 25m
Serge Ibaka is in a walking boot after twisting his ankle in Game 5. He says he's unsure about his availability for Game 6.

Yeah, not sure if I can believe it, but if so, that's huge. He's been the guy keeping them in this series imo.

https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-boston-celtics-serge-ibaka

Wow, but what happened when Jimmy Butler didn't play? We got soft and lost.  Sometimes this type of thing can short term shake up the team with the lost player, and the opponent gets their guard down.

[nickagneta]

Possibly big news.

Brian Robb
@BrianTRobb
 · 25m
Serge Ibaka is in a walking boot after twisting his ankle in Game 5. He says he's unsure about his availability for Game 6.

It is huge as Gasol has been virtually invisible in this series averaging 5 points and 4 rebounds in 22 minutes while fouling out in 2 of the 5 games. If Nurse has to play Gasol 30+ minutes, that is a major advantage for Boston.

[Phantom255x]

Possibly big news.

Brian Robb
@BrianTRobb
 · 25m
Serge Ibaka is in a walking boot after twisting his ankle in Game 5. He says he's unsure about his availability for Game 6.

It is huge as Gasol has been virtually invisible in this series averaging 5 points and 4 rebounds in 22 minutes while fouling out in 2 of the 5 games. If Nurse has to play Gasol 30+ minutes, that is a major advantage for Boston.

So I think Ibaka will still play, but I imagine he'll be limited. C's just have to ATTACK Gasol when he's out there.

[jambr380]

If Ibaka does play, I imagine he will mostly be a jump-shooter. We will have to actually stay on him this game or it will be irrelevant that he is hobbled. Happy to see more Gasol, but it also might mean more Boucher. Not that I am a huge Boucher guy, but he will certainly provide more energy/hustle and he can knock down the outside shot. This isn't Lowry who went down - we still need to go all-out to win.

[footey]

The guy who scares me is RHJ.  He is very switchable, very long arms, good defender.  Nurse may go all in for small ball line up.

[Somebody]

The guy who scares me is RHJ.  He is very switchable, very long arms, good defender.  Nurse may go all in for small ball line up.

That would jam up their offence (RHJ is a non shooter) so I'd be all in for it - confident that we can outscore the Raptors if we both go small.

[SHAQATTACK]

Possibly big news.

Brian Robb
@BrianTRobb
 · 25m
Serge Ibaka is in a walking boot after twisting his ankle in Game 5. He says he's unsure about his availability for Game 6.

Yeah, not sure if I can believe it, but if so, that's huge. He's been the guy keeping them in this series imo.

https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-boston-celtics-serge-ibaka

Wow, but what happened when Jimmy Butler didn't play? We got soft and lost.  Sometimes this type of thing can short term shake up the team with the lost player, and the opponent gets their guard down.

yup this happens to all,the teams . I ve noticed  Lakers are really bad about bringing energy when the other teams stars are out .  To me , im opposite , it is  time to jump all over your opponents, show no,quarter .

[Tr1boy]

Brad Stevens did a nice job last night

Celtics picked on Lowry.... on both ends

Pnr - brought him out to the perimeter to prevent him to take charges.  Tatum best game as a facilitator last night.

On defense have Smart guard Lowry. During pnr, blitz/trap lowry forcing him to give up the ball. 

[Donoghus]

Possibly big news.

Brian Robb
@BrianTRobb
 · 25m
Serge Ibaka is in a walking boot after twisting his ankle in Game 5. He says he's unsure about his availability for Game 6.

Yeah, not sure if I can believe it, but if so, that's huge. He's been the guy keeping them in this series imo.

https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-boston-celtics-serge-ibaka

Wow, but what happened when Jimmy Butler didn't play? We got soft and lost.  Sometimes this type of thing can short term shake up the team with the lost player, and the opponent gets their guard down.

yup this happens to all,the teams . I ve noticed  Lakers are really bad about bringing energy when the other teams stars are out .  To me , im opposite , it is  time to jump all over your opponents, show no,quarter .

Like a month ago on the Simmons podcast, Reusillo was relaying a story about Doc stating that very thing about when stars are out for the other team.

[seancally]

Possibly big news.

Brian Robb
@BrianTRobb
 · 25m
Serge Ibaka is in a walking boot after twisting his ankle in Game 5. He says he's unsure about his availability for Game 6.

Yeah, not sure if I can believe it, but if so, that's huge. He's been the guy keeping them in this series imo.

https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-boston-celtics-serge-ibaka

Wow, but what happened when Jimmy Butler didn't play? We got soft and lost.  Sometimes this type of thing can short term shake up the team with the lost player, and the opponent gets their guard down.

yup this happens to all,the teams . I ve noticed  Lakers are really bad about bringing energy when the other teams stars are out .  To me , im opposite , it is  time to jump all over your opponents, show no,quarter .

Like a month ago on the Simmons podcast, Reusillo was relaying a story about Doc stating that very thing about when stars are out for the other team.

I’d be more cautious of the potential “next man up” for TOR who plays like his life depends on it.