clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Celtics Take On Raptors In Rare Contest Between Dinosaurs

By Tom Bellinger
Boston (48-29, 24-14 away) @ Toronto Raptors (38-39, 24-14 home)
Time: Wednesday, April 7th, 7:00 PM EST
Venue: Air Canada Centre
TV: CSN-NE, TSN-2 Radio: WEEI
The Line: Celtics need tonight to sweep the Raptors for the second straight season
The CountDownInator: 5 glorious semi-meaningless games left until the playoffs!!!!11

After the Cleveland game, the Celtics should have run the table on the rest of the season. After the Cleveland game the Celtics were looking to really punch into the playoffs strong.

Well, life sure is funny sometimes. The Celtics haven't lost to the Knicks since before the Bolsheviks Revolution .Well, we can now say we lost to the Knicks. And the Nets. Basically the whole tri-state area.

But nobody should stand in that thick layer of shame sewage too long, because the Celtics will soon be moving on. Five games left, counting tonight. Chris Bosh is out and the Celtics haven't lost to the Raptors in 2 seasons. But you know what? If the Celtics put forth the same level of effort as last night, they'll still lose. Tune in to see who plays tonight...the Boston Celtics!!!....or the Boston Celtics.

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston Celtics

.

 POS NAME MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TO A/TO PF TECH

.

 PG Rajon Rondo 36.5 13.6 4.4 9.8 2.39 0.13 3 3.23 2.4 0.1

.

 SG Ray Allen 35.3 16.2 3.2 2.7 0.79 0.32 1.6 1.66 2.2 0

.

 SF Paul Pierce 34 18.1 4.4 3.1 1.22 0.43 2.4 1.3 2.8 0.1

.

 PF Kevin Garnett 30 14.4 7.5 2.7 0.98 0.85 1.5 1.83 2.5 0.1

.

 C Kendrick Perkins 27.9 10.4 7.6 1 0.35 1.77 2.2 0.47 2.9 0.2

.

 6 Rasheed Wallace 22.5 9.1 4.1 1 1.04 0.88 0.8 1.23 2.8 0.2

.

.

 8 Glen Davis 17.1 6.3 3.8 0.7 0.43 0.24 0.9 0.7 2.3 0

.

 9 Tony Allen 16.5 6.2 2.6 1.3 1.14 0.29 1.2 1.1 1.9 0

.

 10 Michael Finley† 13.3 5.1 1.4 1.2 0.06 0.13 0.4 3.17 1.1 0

Injuries and Stuff: Marcus Landry (D-L)

Toronto Raptors

.

 POS NAME MIN PTS TOT AST STL BLK TO A/TO PF TECH

.

 PG Jose Calderon 27 10.5 2.1 5.8 0.71 0.11 1.5 3.87 2.1 0

.

 SG Sonny Weems 18.7 6.8 2.6 1.4 0.5 0.34 0.9 1.51 1.7 0

.

 SF Antoine Wright 20.8 6.4 2.8 1.1 0.4 0.17 0.9 1.23 2 0.1

.

 PF Amir Johnson 16.9 5.6 4.8 0.5 0.53 0.78 0.8 0.61 3.1 0

.

 C Andrea Bargnani 34.8 16.9 6.2 1.1 0.32 1.33 1.5 0.77 2.8 0

.

 6 Hedo Turkoglu 31.2 11.7 4.4 4.1 0.68 0.46 1.8 2.34 2.9 0

.

 7 Jarrett Jack 27.5 11.2 2.7 4.9 0.77 0.08 2 2.47 1.9 0

.

 8 Reggie Evans 11.1 3.4 3.8 0.3 0.54 0.17 0.8 0.42 1.5 0.1

.

 9 DeMar DeRozan 21.5 8.4 2.9 0.7 0.58 0.24 0.8 0.83 2.3 0

.

 10 Rasho Nesterovic 10.2 4.1 2.3 0.6 0.27 0.46 0.4 1.69 1.3 0

Injuries and stuff: Chris Bosh (DOUBTFUL), Antoine Wright (DTD)

Matchup of the Night: Age and Anticipation vs Youth and Desperation

-This is generally where I break down a significant matchup, like how KG matches up with a younger more athletic Amir Johnson, or how Rondo matches up with Jose Calderon, but frankly it doesn't matter. If the Celtics come to play hard tonight they should win. If they sustain an effort over 48 minutes, they should win. There isn't any room from interpretation there. Our boys are the better team.

One Key To the Game For the Good Guys:

Five games. Five inferior opponents. No Chris Bosh. You just lost to the Knicks. For the Celtics to win this game they have to play like they want to win the game. Simple. Trite. Cliche. True.

More From CelticsBlog

Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for the Celtics Blog Daily Roundup newsletter!

A daily roundup of Boston Celtics news from Celtics Blog