After five games of watching and learning, it was always going to take a mountain of an effort to beat this Celtics team. With one of their all-stars out of sorts since the restart, the Raptors have been in scramble mode on the offensive end against a Boston defense with few weaknesses. Possessions stay in one spot, or they move and pause; players wait and see if there’s an advantage. Rarely does one become apparent.
Basketball is never that reductive, though, and the Toronto Raptors have proven throughout the 2019-20 season that predictions and analysis can be thrown out the window when you get the right guys making the right shots at the right time.