Boston Celtics (9-2) at Toronto Raptors (5-5)
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #12, Road Game #7
TV: NBCSB, TSN, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, TSN 1050, Sirius XM
Scotiabank Arena
The Celtics close out their 4 game road trip with the 1st of 4 games against the Toronto Raptors. They will play in Toronto again on January 31 and twice in Boston on January 25 and February 14. The Celtics won all 4 games against the Raptors last season. They are 77-43 overall, all time, against the Raptors and they
are 32-26 all time in games played at Toronto. The Celtics have won their last 5 games against Toronto.
The Celtics are playing in the 2nd of back to back games, having played at Philadelphia on Tuesday night. This is the third of 16 back to back sets for the Celtics this season. The Celtics were good in back to back games last season and hopefully, with their depth, it will carry through to this season. They are 1-1 so far on the second night of back to back games. They beat Brooklyn at home in the first and lost to Houston on the road in the second.
With their win over the 76ers on Tuesday, the Celtics now are 1st in the East, half a game ahead of Philly. They are 4-2 on the road and 9-1 in their last 10 games. They are 3-0 against Atlantic Division teams. They have won their last 4 games. The Raptors are 6th in the East, 3.5 games behind the Celtics. They are 2-2 at home and 5-5 in their last 10 games. This is their first game against an Atlantic Division rival. They are coming off a loss in their last game.
The Raptors made several moves in the offseason. They added Kyle Anderson to the main roster as a free agent and they added Kevin McCullar, Jr, Nate Bittle, and Malachi Smith as 2-Way players. They traded for Kawhi Leonard and they drafted Allen Graves with the 19th pick and Jaden Bradley with the 50th pick. They lost Gradey Dick, Chucky Hepburn, Brandon Ingram, AJ Lawson, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Jonathan Mogbo and Garrett Temple.
After this game, the Celtics will return home to face Dallas and Orlando before a West coast trip that takes them through Denver, Sacramento, Golden State, and Washington. They then play one game at home against Atlanta before playing at San Antonio and Dallas. Then it’s home against Charlotte before a game at Brooklyn. Next they have a 7 game home stand against Washington twice, Utah, Detroit, Portland, Miami and Cleveland.
After this game at home, the Raptors play at Philadelphia then home for two games against New York and one against Washington. Then they play one game at Detroit before 3 games at home against Milwaukee, Brooklyn, and Denver. Next they have a 4 game road trip against Houston, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and Charlotte before a 3 game home stand against San Antonio, Golden State, and Houston.
Predicting the starting lineup for this game is tough. The Celtics have been changing the 5th starter on a regular basis and there is no telling who they will start from game to game. In this one, it’s even harder since they are playing in back to back games and Paul George will be out. I’ve listed a possible starting lineup for them with Sam Hauser in place of PG13, but it will likely change. For the Raptors, they have 3 possible starters questionable who are listed as a game time decision so I’ve listed the starters from their game notes, but that may also change.
After his big game against the 76ers, Paul George was listed as out for this game due to an illness. The Raptors have 6 players on their injury report at this time. Immanuel Quickley (hamstring) and Collin Murray-Boyles (illness) are listed as questionable and will be a game time decision. Kawhi Leonard (knee), Scottie Barnes (groin), Trayce Jackson-Davis (illnerss), and Nate Bittle (foot) are listed as out.
Possible Starting Matchups
PG: Derrick White vs Jamal Shead
SG: Jordan Walsh vs RJ Barrett
SF: Sam Hauser vs Ja’Kobe Walter
PF: Jayson Tatum vs Collin Murray Boyles
C: Neemias Queta vs Jakob Poeltl
Celtics Reserves
Chris Cenac, Jr
Mike Conley, Jr
Luka Garza
Hugo Gonzalez
Ron Harper, Jr
Payton Pritchard
Mitchell Robinson
Baylor Scheierman
Two Way Players
Devin Carter
Dillon Mitchell
Amari Williams
Injuries/Out
Paul George (illness) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Raptors Reserves
Kyle Anderson
Jamison Battle
Jaden Bradley
Allen Graves
Alijah Martin
2-Way Players
Nate Bittle
Kevin McCullar, Jr
Malachi Smith
Injuries/out
Immanuel Quickley (hamstring) questionable
Collin Murray-Boyles (illness) questionable
Trayce Jackson-Davis (illness) out
Scottie Barnes (groin) out
Kawhi Leonard (knee) out
Nate Bittle (foot) out
Head Coach
Darko Rajakovic
Key Matchups
Jordan Walsh vs RJ Barrett
Barrett is averaging 21.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. He is shooting 45.7% from the field and 27.8% from beyond the arc. Against the Celtics he is averaging 20.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists over his career. He has been struggling from the perimeter, but if left open he is very capable of hitting threes so the Celtics need to defend him both in the paint and on the perimeter.
Sam Hauser vs Ja’Kobe Walter
Walter is averaging 11 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He is shooting 38.7% from the field and 32.8% from beyond the arc. Over his career against the Celtics, he is averaging 8.5 points 2.2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. I’m guessing that Hauser gets the start in place of Paul George.
Honorable Mention
Neemias Queta vs Jakob Poeltl
Poeltl is averaging 8.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. He is shooting 64.6% from the field with no 3 pointers. Since he isn’t a threat from the perimeter, the Celtics need to keep him out of the paint and off the boards.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is the most important key to winning. The Celtics are 4th in the league with a defensive rating of 106.3. The Raptors are 14th with a defensive rating of 112.4. The Celtics have played good defense for the most part, but there have been times when they let up on the defensive end and allowed teams to come back from big deficits. They must stay committed to playing tough, lock down defense, especially against a Raptors team that plays good defense themselves. The Celtics must especially defend in the paint as the Raptors are 4th in the league with 52.2 points in the paint per game.
Rebound – As with defense, rebounding will always be a key to winning every game. The Celtics are 10th with 45.0 rebounds per game. The Raptors are 25th with 41.4 rebounds per game. The Celtics will need to rebound as a team with players crashing the boards from every position. The Celtics can’t score without the ball and rebounding is a great way to get the ball and to get extra possessions and to also deny the Raptors extra possessions. The Raptors are best in the league with 20.7 second chance points per game. The Celtics need to deny them rebounds to limit those points.
Move the Ball Carefully – The Celtics are at their best when the ball moves and they make the extra pass. When the ball sticks and players try to do too much, the Celtics struggle. But they have to make careful passes and not get sloppy because the Raptors average 22.3 points off turnovers (2nd) and 16.2 fast break points per game. The Celtics need to be careful with their passes and ball handling because if they aren’t the Raptors will make them pay.
Play with Energy and Focus for 48 Minutes – The Celtics must play with effort and energy and they have to play harder than the Raptors for all 4 quarters. The team that plays the hardest and with more energy will usually get the win. They also must stay focused on taking good shots and making them. If the 3’s are falling, they are tough to beat. But, if the 3’s aren’t falling, it can get ugly and so the Celtics need to focus on taking the best shots, whether that means shooting more 3’s or taking the ball into the paint if they aren’t falling.
X-Factors
On the Road and Fatigue – The Celtics are on the road for the 4th straight game and have to deal with the distractions of travel and going through customs along with playing on an unfamiliar court and in front of hostile fans. They are also playing in the second of back to back games and in the 3rd game in 4 nights. Fatigue may come into play down the stretch.
Last Game of Road Trip – This is the final game of a tough 4 game road trip and the 3rd game in 4 nights as well as being the second of back to back games. All of that has a lot going against the Celtics. The final game of a road trip is always a tough game. The Celtics will be tired and looking forward to going home. Also they will be coming down off the high of their emotional win in Philly the night before. Hopefully they can shake all of that off and play well in this game.
Officiating – Officiating is always an x-factor in every game. Every crew officiates differently. Some call it tight, others let them play. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus from playing the game. They did a good job of overcoming a 28-5 free throw disadvantage against the 76ers. The Celtics also have to be aware of the new points of emphasis for this season and try to avoid flopping (although Embiid seemed to get away with it), off‑arm push‑offs, reckless closeouts, delays before free throws, and illegal screens. They have been especially calling flops and push offs and so the Celtics need to avoid doing both.
