After their Game 4 defeat of the Philadelphia 76ers in the first postseason sweep of their Atlantic Division rivals in franchise history, the Boston Celtics officially have their second-round opponent set after the Toronto Raptors eliminated the Brooklyn Nets in four games as well.
The Celtics have the regular season advantage heading into the series, having won three of the four contests between the team in the 2019-20 NBA season.
But the expectation seems to be that Boston will have a much tougher challenge awaiting them when they face the NBA’s defending champions, who return the same team that won it all last season with the glaring exceptions of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.
It's official. #Celtics vs. #Raptors in Eastern Conference Semifinals
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) August 24, 2020
That is of course no small decampment, but the Raptors cruised to the No. 2 seed in the East making quick work of much of their schedule despite being plagued with injuries for much of campaign before the pandemic hiatus, only to pick right back up where they left off at the Disney restart.
And while the Nets were pummeled into submission in their 150 – 122 coda to a rough, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant-less end to their season, it came at the cost of point guard Kyle Lowry’s wrist, which he sprained early in the win, forcing his exit.
That is to be sure a situation to monitor, as Lowry has been a thorn in Boston’s side for years, particularly on defense.
First time for everything. See you soon, @Raptors ☘️🦖#BleedGreen pic.twitter.com/AC3khYXMYa
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 24, 2020
On the flip side, the loss of veteran forward Gordon Hayward will be felt much more considerably in this series, especially given Toronto is about as good a defense in the league and Hayward’s passing and shooting — and mere gravity on the court — are all important tools for beating it.
Despite the Celtics success against their northern neighbors this season, we should expect a hard-fought series, one that could come down to the most important ability of them all in this league.
Avail-ability.
