#Celtics vs. Raptors analysis: Boston on different level during NBA playoffs

By Jonathan Von Tobel, VSiN

The first two teams to advance in the NBA postseason will face one another in the East semifinals. Both the Raptors and Celtics eliminated their first-round opponents in four games, and will meet Thursday with a berth in the Eastern Conference finals on the line.

Boston took the regular-season series, posting a 2-1 straight-up and against-the-spread record with a 7.1 net rating. It is hard to take much from the regular season, considering Toronto played with a fully available roster just once in the three matchups. However, there are a few things to glean from not only the two postseason series, but the eight seeding games as well.

Toronto’s offense really showed up against the Nets in its sweep. The Raptors averaged 122.9 points every 100 possessions, shot 49.5 percent from the floor and 43.3 percent on 41.0 3-point attempts per game. All excellent figures, but is everything fixed with a Toronto offense that was inconsistent in the seeding games?

The Raptors finished the seeding games averaging 106.9 points every 100 possessions, the 19th-ranked offensive rating in the bubble. However, they finished with the sixth-best 3-point shooting percentage (39.1 percent). In other words, their offense showed a reliance on the 3-point shot, and when it was not falling their efficiency suffered. Just look at Game 2 against Brooklyn in which Toronto shot 26.5 percent from deep, and needed a second half comeback to win.

How that offensive approach works against one of the best perimeter defenses in the NBA is going to go a long way toward deciding the victor of this series. Boston allowed just 34.6 percent to opponents from 3-point range, the second-best percentage in the league. In its seeding games that number was 32.6 percent, and Philadelphia managed just 26.4 percent from beyond the arc against the Celtics.

Boston just seems to be playing at another level, on both ends of the floor. The Celtics averaged 117.2 points every 100 possessions against Philadelphia, the best offensive rating in the postseason prior to Monday’s games. They finished sixth in offensive efficiency in the seeding games, posting 116.7 offensive rating. However, will this offense be able to sustain itself against Toronto?

Despite the inconsistencies of their offensive play, the Raptors have been stupendous on defense, both all season long and in Orlando. Toronto allowed just 104.7 points every 100 possessions in the regular season, and clamped down on the Nets offense to the point it averaged just 102.4 points per 100 possessions. The Raptors have shown that this defensive style translates to almost every matchup they have played this season.

Every matchup that is, but the ones with Boston. Part of why Boston won two of three games against Toronto this season was because of their offensive success. In their three games, the Celtics posted a 110.0 offensive rating while shooting 44.3 percent from the floor. Those are not eye-popping metrics on the surface, but they become more impressive when it is against one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. Boston seems to have an advantage in this series, and it has played out in three games.

This is all without mentioning the potential absence of Kyle Lowry, who was reportedly diagnosed with an ankle sprain on Monday. Should Lowry miss any sort of time in this series it will be trouble for the Raptors. He was not an incredible offensive piece for Toronto in its series against Brooklyn, but he was a fine defender. He was on the floor for each game against Boston when the Celtics found consistent success on offense. What does this series look like without him?