Raptors battle hard in Boston, but stars not showing up costs them

Article content

Considering everything that wasn’t working for the Raptors in Boston on Sunday afternoon, it felt like a minor miracle that the team was even in a close game with the Celtics. Top offensive options Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes were all way off, the team was getting nearly doubled on the boards and obliterated inside, yet, this was no Celtics rout.

Article content

Toronto trailed by only three points after a spirited first three quarters before things fell apart in the fourth in a 115-101 loss.

Article content

Article content

Barnes and Ingram combined to go 11-for-27, Barrett 6-for-17 and Raptor-killer Payton Pritchard scored 11 of his 17 in the fourth. Superstars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 49 points and shot over 50% from the field, while centre Neemias Queta had 18, missing only one of his nine shots, absolutely destroying an ineffective Jakob Poeltl.

Boston’s gone 49-19 since starting the year 6-10 and doesn’t look like a fun potential playoff opponent, if the Raptors even get there.

The loss dropped Toronto back into the play-in, behind Philadelphia because of the tie-breaker. Two huge home games against Miami are up next this week.

Article content

Article content

Takeaways from one the Raptors might have been able to steal had the stars come to play:

YOUNG PUPS STEP UP

Barnes is clearly banged up and is having his worst stretch of the season at about the worst possible time. Ingram and Barrett can be streaky and didn’t have it, but the good news was Toronto’s two best players also happened to be its two youngest. Collin Murray-Boyles, all of 20 years old, and Ja’Kobe Walter, 21, were both excellent at both ends of the floor, especially defensively.

Walter hit half of Toronto’s eight three-pointers, scored 16 points and added two steals and a standout blocked shot.

Murray-Boyles, having his best run of this rookie campaign over the last week, had 12, along with five rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block.

Article content

In a few weeks this season will be done. It’s encouraging for the Raptors that their two highest recent draft picks look like long-term factors, perhaps even starters, depending on how the rest of the roster shakes out and if Murray-Boyles and Barnes, both ideally power forwards, can co-exist.

THE MATH BATTLE

Boston’s offence revolves around launching tons of three-pointers, as well as making a high number of them. The Celtics led the NBA in attempts each of the last two seasons and were second the one before that and still get up a lot, but are only fourth-highest in attempts this season (partly because Tatum has been out for all but a handful of games).

The Raptors attempt just short of 10 fewer three-pointers a game. Which makes this stat one of the weirdest we’ve tracked all year: In the previous three games between these teams, the Celtics only attempted four more three-pointers than the Raptors. It was 47-22 in favour of Boston in attempts after the first meeting, but the Raptors responded by launching 47 of their own in the next one and the third game as well, compared to 39 and 28 for Boston, respectively.

Article content

On paper, the Raptors definitely don’t have the shooters to justify taking that many (which is why they usually attempt far fewer), but it’s tough to beat Boston if you don’t at least try to match their math game. If you stick to two-pointers, as the Raptors did a year earlier when Jakob Poeltl feasted inside to the tune of 87% shooting in three games), it’s too hard to beat them.

Both teams nailed five threes in the first half Sunday, but Boston’s huge rebounding edge was a major reason for an eight-point lead.

The Celtics only hit one three-pointer in the third, while Toronto hit three and the Celtics finished with the only two makes from deep in the fateful fourth.

Article content

UNSUNG HERO

One of the things the Celtics seem to do better than 90% of the rest of the NBA is pro scouting. Boston’s scouts and management tend to have a strong grasp on talented players not being utilized properly elsewhere.

Queta is one of the best examples. Queta, the 39th pick in 2021, only got into 20 games over parts of two seasons with Sacramento, a terrible organization, especially compared to the Celtics. You think the Kings couldn’t have used him? Maybe if they’d developed the 7-footer at all. Instead, Queta was waived and was snatched up five days later by a Boston team that would later win a title that season. He mostly watched and learned last year, but was in for 62 games last season before earning the starting job in 2025-26.

Article content

Queta’s averaged 10.1 points and 8.4 rebounds, shooting 64% from the field for one of the NBA’s best teams. Not bad.

He’s also been a major thorn in the side of the Raptors all season. Queta hit his first four shots Sunday, 8-of-9 in the first half and made all seven in a December win over Toronto. He dominated the boards in a victory earlier that month and was solid in a January win as well.

If you have two guys earning more than $100 million between them (Tatum and Brown) you need some bargains to make it all work. Queta for less than $3 million, with a team option for the same next year, might be the biggest bargain in the entire league.

If Poeltl keeps playing like he did Sunday … well, his own contract starts looking like one of the NBA’s worst.

On X: @WolstatSun

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play Video

Article content