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The Boston Celtics put down a marker with an emphatic victory over the Toronto Raptors in game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
The Raptors, who are aiming to win back-to-back championships after winning their first NBA title last season, had an outing to forget as they shot a paltry 37% from the field. In stark contrast, the Celtics were dominant in both ends of the court and asserted their authority over the Canadians right from the get go.
The scoring load for the Boston Celtics was shared among starters Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker - all of whom managed to score at least 17 points. It was a near-perfect day at the office for Brad Stevens' men who combined smothering defence with efficient offence to blow out the Raptors in Game 1.
On that note, let's take a look at the five talking points from the duel between the two heavyweight NBA teams.
Five talking points from the clash between Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors:
#5: Marcus Smart rises to the occassion
After regular starter Gordon Hayward injured his right ankle in game 1 of the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers, the onus was on Marcus Smart to take more responsibility.
Smart, who is a good four inches shorter than the 6'7" Gordon Hayward, is a reputed defensive guard in the NBA. His defensive abilities despite having a relatively small frame are incredible, and his value to the Boston Celtics team is immense.
However, Smart's offensive output is often criticised as he is not looked at as a reliable scorer. Averaging 17.5 points this season with a fantastic 50% shooting rate, Hayward is far superior in that respect. If Smart could bring anything close to that kind of scoring, the Celtics would be an even more frightening team.
Against the Toronto Raptors, it is exactly what he did. He displayed a sense of aggresiveness with the ball in his hands that has seldom been on show. He scored 21 points on efficient 6-10 shooting to go with his dependable brand of elite defence. The Boston Celtics fans will hope this is the start of a good run of scoring for him as Hayward is set to miss a few more matches.
#4: Siakam goes missing
The Toronto Raptors have a lot of players who can lead their team to victory on a given night. They certainly don't rely on one or two players to win matches, but it is a common belief that Pascal Siakam is their go-to man when push comes to shove.
The 2019-20 'Most improved player' award recipient had a performance to forget against the Boston Celtics, though. Siakam averages nearly 23 points per game with over 45% efficiency from the floor - numbers that were clearly good enough to hand him a spot at this year's all-star game.
However, he only dropped 13 points against the Celtics, doing so with a poor efficiency. Moreover, he failed to impact in others ways too as he could only muster two assists and three rebounds in well over 30 minutes of playing time.
Siakam needs to get back to his usual self if Toronto Raptors are to win this series.
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#3: Toronto Raptors go stone cold from three
There are plenty of 3-point specialists in the Toronto Raptors roster. Just about everyone is capable of splashing a jumpshot from beyond the arc. Fred van Vleet, Kyle Lowry and Matt Thomas among others are specialists from long range.
Unfortunately for them, their shots just did not fall against the Boston Celtics.The Raptors attempted a healthy 40 shots from outside the arc, yet only made ten of them, which is an underwhelming accuracy of 25% . In comparison, the Boston Celtics dropped an incredible 17 threes from 39 attempts - a return that translated to 43.6% accuracy.
Although it wasn't the only reason why the Raptors got blown out in game one, it is one of the major ones. It's a make or miss league, and you just have to make three-pointers!
#2: Transition defence is a concern for Boston Celtics
To fault the Boston Celtics after such an incredible performance is nit-picking at best. Boston Celtics did just about everything right, and their opponents were nowhere near them for the entirety of the 48 minutes.
Having said that, there is something coach Brad Stevens would want to work on - and that is his team's transition defence. The Boston Celtics committed an ugly 22 turnovers, but what will concern Stevens the most is the fact that they allowed Toronto to score from a lot of them.
The Raptors are one of the best teams in the league when it comes to points off turnovers, and Nick Nurse has drilled his team well to capitalise on the opposition's mistakes.
It'll be interesting to see what changes Brad Stevens makes in game two.
#1: Centres come up big for Boston
In a star-studded Boston Celtics team, if there is any position that needs some stability, it is the centre position. The rotation at the five spot involves Daniel Thies, Enes Kanter and Robert Williams. They are all solid NBA players but nowhere close to being the league's stars unlike the Celtics' other four starters.
However, one wouldn't feel the same if they are judged on the basis of one game. Starter Daniel Theis put up an excellent performance,as he protected the paint extremely well while also chipping in with a handy 13 points. He also grabbed an impressive 15 boards, which was a new playoff career-high for the German.
Off the bench, Robert Williams got the nod ahead of Enes Kanter owing to his better defensive abilities, and he repayed the faith shown in him by his coach. He made all five of his field-goal attempts, while also registering two blocks off the bench. His presence on the court overall was refreshing.
If Boston Celtic's big men continue to turn up like this, it could be a real problem for Toronto!
Also read: Nico Mannion to Golden State Warriors: How he fits into the line-up l NBA Draft 2020.
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