Coming into tonight’s critical showdown, just one game separated the Celtics and Raptors in the Eastern Conference standings. That set the stage for a proper shootout in Boston tonight, where the Celtics came out on top (125-117) to move to 3-0 on the season series.
Payton Pritchard led the way for Boston with 27 points, five rebounds, eight assists, zero steals, and one block on 63.2% shooting and 60.0% shooting from three in what is becoming an increasingly regular statline from him. Jaylen Brown wasn’t far behind with 25 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, zero steals, and zero blocks on 40.0% shooting and 33.3% shooting from three.
For the Raptors, it was a much more even spread. RJ Barrett finished with 19 points, four rebounds, seven assists, zero steals, and zero blocks on 40.0% shooting and 40.0% shooting from three. Ja’Kobe Walter also dropped 19 points, along with six rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block on 58.3% shooting and 55.6% shooting from three. Finally, Immanuel Quickley added 17 points, two rebounds, 13 assists, one steal, and one block on 37.5% shooting and 40.0% shooting from three.
With high scoring on both sides, this game was very demanding from the jump and pushed both offenses to their limit trying to keep up. While this was ultimately just a regular-season game in January, there are still some massive takeaways from the game that might lend to a larger conversation about where each team stands in the East.
Celtics Shooting Is Underrated
Without Jayson Tatum (whose return has not been ruled out this season), critics were waiting for the Celtics’ offense to drop off a cliff. Instead, they are third in the East with the NBA’s highest offensive rating in December so far.
Tonight, their offense operated with the kind of efficiency we saw from the 2023-24 team. They shot 54.0% as a unit, going 14-28 from three-point range (50.0%). The scoring came from several sources, including Brown, Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Anfernee Simons off the bench.
Anfernee Simons Needs Bigger Role
Admittedly, the Celtics have a packed frontcourt rotation that dominated down the stretch tonight. Still, despite the trade rumors, Anfernee Simons is proving that he’s ready for a bigger role, and more trust from Joe Mazzulla.
Besides a solid stat line off the bench tonight (15 points, two rebounds, five assists, zero steals, and zero blocks on 54.5% shooting and 75.0% from three), he made good decisions on the floor and gave full effort on every play. He made a positive impact, earning praise from fans and coaches. Whether it’s more minutes or a spot in the starting lineup, Simons can do more for the Celtics if they just give him the chance.
Jaylen Brown Delivers At The Line
Jaylen has taken a step up without his co-star this season, averaging a career-high 29.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game on 50.1% shooting and 37.2% shooting from deep. His ascension is clearly no fluke, and he proved it again today.
While his shot wasn’t falling against the Raptors (25 points on 40.0% shooting from the field), he was able to make up for it with trips to the line. By going 12-13 on free throws, he single-handedly outshot the entire Raptors team, who went 9-10 as a team. That kind of versatility and aggressiveness is what will help Jaylen sustain his current MVP-level play for the rest of the season.
Injuries Taking Their Toll On Raptors
For Toronto, the latest result is another example of how far injuries have dragged them down. For a team that was once second in the East, their lineup was almost unrecognizable tonight, with guys like Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Murray-Boyles, and Ja’Kobe Walker starting for them in place of Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, and Jakob Poeltl.
With all the pressure on Barrett and Quickley, the Raptors struggled to score, but they were even worse defensively. With no answers for the opponent, they had no choice but to try and outshoot the Celtics, a strategy that was doomed from the start.
