If you’re dutifully handicapping Friday’s Raptors-Celtics Game 7, the numbers are hard to deny. Examining the matchup without emotion, simply analyzing the math, Boston is the easy choice.
Over the course of six games, the Celtics have been the better defensive team and the better offensive team. They’ve shot the three-pointer better and rebounded better, too. Their top player, Jayson Tatum, has grossly outplayed Toronto’s No. 1, Pascal Siakam. The Celtics came within a half a second of putting the Raptors into a 3-0 hole before OG Anunoby’s Game 3 buzzer beater gave the Raptors their first bit of quantifiable life in this series.