Recap: Raptors Come Up Short Against Celtics

The Toronto Raptors fell to the Boston Celtics 115-111 to drop to 1-2 in the preseason.

The Celtics were on the second night of a back-to-back and rested seven of its top eight players. Meanwhile, the Raptors were without Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Bruce Brown, Ja’Kobe Walter. However, the Raptors still had the talent advantage going up against the likes of Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and many of the Celtics G League players.

However, Scottie Barnes and company got off to a rough first-half and never recovered. The Raptors lack of spacing and three-point struggles got them in a hole, as Toronto was outscored by 24 points from three.

Terrible first-half

The Raptors did make the game more respectable in the second-half but it was concerning to see the Raptors get blown out by the Celtics players who won’t even be in their rotation. The Raptors were shorthanded too, but they still had key rotation players in the lineup such as Barnes, Jakob Poeltl and Gradey Dick. The Raptors found itself down by as many as 34 points.

Gradey Dick finishes strong

Dick had a rough first-half against Boston and struggled on the defensive end as well. However, the sophomore turned it around in the second-half, hitting four three-pointers to finish with a team-high 18 points.

Rookies Jamal Shead and Jonathan Mogbo show promise

Jamal Shead continues to be a big bright spot for the Raptors. He turned in another quality outing. He finished with 14 points, 5 assists and hit a triple. Also, Jonthan Mogbo had his best game in a Raptors uniform. He finished with 8 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists in 21 minutes. Mogbo will need to continue to develop his offensive game as he gets more comfortable.

Off night for Scottie Barnes

Scottie Barnes continues to ease his way back into form. The All-Star had tough outing, scoring 10 points in 26 minutes and was a minus-27 on the court. There’s no need to panic since this is Barnes’ second game back from injury, but it’ll be important for Barnes to get back into rhythm with the regular season fast approaching.

Next on tap

The Raptors will finally return home on Oct. 15 to take on the Celtics once again. This will be the Raptors second last preseason game before they wrap up their preseason scheudle on Oct. 18 agaisnt the Brooklyn Nets.