Can the Raptors even the season series against the Celtics?

SB Nation

The Toronto Raptors aim to start a three-game winning streak as the Boston Celtics aim to stop a two-game skid as the third and fourth seeds in the Eastern Conference match up in Toronto this Saturday

night. Having lost the most recent contest to the C’s, Toronto will be looking to even the season series before heading on to a lengthy holiday road trip.

Keeping the magic going

Key players on the Raptors have been putting up big numbers over the last few games. Brandon Ingram has been showing out as a scorer, averaging 29.5 points over the last four games, including a 30-piece against the Celtics. Scottie Barnes has posted two double-doubles over the same time frame, and has been playing excellent defence, pouring in more than four stocks over the last two games. Off the bench, Jamal Shead has proved a bright spot amidst this season’s second-unit woes, notching two double-digit assist games in the last two wins, and dropping 18 points in the NBA Cup’s quarter-finals against the Knicks.

They will need every bit of that production against the Celtics, who have established their post-championship roster with Jaylen Brown proving himself to be every bit of a premier first option this year. Despite a rough start, the Celtics have clawed their way back into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference again, and will pose a formidable opponent to the Raptors as they try to recover their footing after the stretch of losses they racked up starting at the end of November.

Holding the line

The absence of RJ Barrett has been a major concern for the Raptors, who have lost six of their last eleven games without the Canadian swingman. However, the potential absence of Jakob Poeltl is a more serious concern. The Raptors’ lack of centre depth and Poeltl’s injuries has been discussed at length, and Saturday’s matchup may serve as yet another reminder that the Raptors need to make moves for big man to either bolster their lineup, or take over Poeltl’s starting job. While the Celtics’ scoring punch may come from their guards and forwards that the Raptors are more equipped to deal with, the lack of reliable interior presence from a big man remains problematic.

The Celtics, on the other hand, are playing with an entirely healthy starting lineup, minus, of course, Jayson Tatum, whose saga of recovery from the Achilles injury in the 2025 playoffs continues. Jaylen Brown has been on fire recently, with a number of big scoring games over the past month, and getting to the line a great deal. Payton Pritchard, newly promoted to the starting lineup after winning the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2024-25, has seen a dip in production and a drop in efficiency in the Celtics’ last two losses, shooting an egregious 28.6% from the field in the game against Milwaukee last week. Containing Brown as the Celtics’ offensive engine, while not allowing Derrick White to catch fire as the secondary scoring option is the key to a Raptors’ victory.

Winning here consolidates Toronto’s position as top-three in the East by bloodying the nose of their divisional rival, and gaining some additional buffer space in the standings. A loss here bodes poorly for the Raptors, sparking questions about how realistic playoff contention is against serious contenders. The Raptors have beaten a lot of mediocre, injured, and outright bad teams this season, but wins against competitive squads have been few and far between. The chance to prove that the Raptors can hang with the best in the East is here, tonight.