After Monday night's 102-99 loss, the defending champion Toronto Raptors find themselves trailing in their second round series against the Boston Celtics, 0-2. It's not time to panic just yet, but the Celtics seem to have the Raptors' number.

The postseason isn't the only setting in which the Raptors have struggled against the Celtics. A quick look at their record will reveal that Toronto only had one win against Boston during the 2019-20 regular season — a 113-97 victory in The Garden. Aside from that game, it's been a one-sided affair between these two teams, with the Celtics now holding a 5-1 advantage in their meetings (regular and postseason).

So… what's happening here?

Several factors must be taken into account when assessing the Raptors' struggles. Toronto lost Kawhi Leonard to the Clippers prior to the start of this campaign. Other players on the Raptors' roster, such as Kyle Lowry, Freddy VanVleet and Pascal Siakam, stepped up in Kawhi's place throughout this season, but it hasn't been enough against the Celtics thus far.

Playing into Boston's favor is the rise of their young talent. Players like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are proving their worth as top-5 picks in the draft. Others, such as Marcus Smart and Robert Williams, are making big plays as well. Smart, for instance, knocked down five huge threes in a row during the fourth quarter of Monday night's Game 2 victory. Tatum led the Celtics with 34 points, which included a 14-of-14 mark from the free throw line.

“Once I saw the first one go in, I knew,” Smart said of his hot hand in Game 2, via ESPN.

Without Kawhi Leonard on the defensive end of the floor, the Raptors may not have enough horses to keep up with the Celtics. Making things a bit worse is the fact that Kyle Lowry has struggled to find any sort of rhythm from the perimeter in the playoffs. In fact, Lowry is now 1-of-12 from deep in this series and went 8-of-23 from 3-point land in his four games against the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. To be fair, though, Lowry may not be fully healthy, as he recently dealt with a sprained left ankle.

VanVleet has cooled off as well, hitting just 5-of-23 3-pointers against the Celtics — this after sinking 19 of his 34 attempts against the Nets in the opening round. Marcus Smart's defense has certainly played a role in these diminished stats.

“The shots are there,” Lowry said after Game 2, via ESPN. “We just have to make them. … All we've got to do is get one game.”

Game 3 is set to tip at 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, with TNT having live broadcast coverage. Notably, Boston has now won six straight playoff games, which is its first such streak since 2017. The franchise record is seven straight postseason wins, set en route to the 1986 NBA title.

“Well, I think we should know we shouldn't give up, right? We know the next game's super critical,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Game 3. “But they're all critical. They are. But we know this one's super critical.”

Will the Raptors bounce back, or will the Celtics take a commanding 3-0 lead?