Celtics Notes: Boston’s Win Over Raptors ‘Won’t Mean Anything’ In Few Weeks
The Celtics dominated on both ends of the floor Friday night against the Raptors, but to Boston head coach Brad Stevens, it was just another regular-season game.
Boston snapped Toronto’s seven-game win streak with a 122-100 victory in Orlando, Fla. The C’s boasted seven players with double-digit points, had incredible ball movement and kept Toronto out of the paint for four quarters.
Of course, these still are the seeding games and not the postseason. And Steves noted postgame the solid W won’t matter once the playoffs begin.
“This game won’t mean anything in a couple weeks,” he told reporters after the game, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage.
Translation: Regular season wins mean nothing when you get to the postseason.
This was the most complete the Celtics defense looked since the NBA restart, something Stevens credited to the team just being prepared.
“I think the biggest thing was that we were ready to play,” he said, via the Celtics. “… We have to be locked in, we have to be dialed in, and we have to be good defensively.”
If this same C’s team shows up in the postseason, then it certainly could spell trouble for the rest of the Eastern Conference
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Here are some other notes from Friday’s Celtics-Raptors game:
— Daniel Theis had a huge game for Boston, amassing a double-double with 11 points and as many rebounds. Six of those points came from corner 3-pointers, which, according to MassLive’s John Karalis, didn’t happen all that often prior to Friday.
Daniel Theis hit 2 corner 3's tonight vs. Toronto… he came into the game having hit only 3 corner 3's all season.
— John Karalis (@RedsArmy_John) August 8, 2020
The C’s big man knows, if he can space the floor with that kind of shooting, it certainly will help the rest of the offense.
“It’s going to be big for us against Toronto and Milwaukee,” Theis told reporters on a video call after the game. “They pack the paint against our guards. I have to make those shots to open it up.”
He added: “On the defensive end, I have to be the anchor. I’m the last guy. I’ve got to speak and I’ve got to be loud for everybody to see everything.”
Stevens also was impressed with what he saw from Theis, saying the center has figured out “how to get the most out of everyone around him.”
Brad Stevens on Daniel Theis: “He has figured out how to get the most out of everyone around him and I think that has been his greatest strength all year.”
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 8, 2020
— The Raptors had just 37 first-half points, a season-low.
— Toronto was the only undefeated team in the NBA bubble…until Friday, of course.
— The Celtics led by as much as 40 points in the fourth quarter.
— Jaylen Brown led the seven players in double-digits with 20 points and helped the C’s improve to 3-2 in the bubble.