The Boston Celtics got exposed against the Toronto Raptors and head coach Brad Stevens spoke briefly about his team's efforts on the defensive end.
Right after they suffered a 118-95 blowout loss to the Raptors, Stevens noted that the Celtics were “all over the place defensively,” per A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston:
"Same old, same old. I thought we were all over the place defensively tonight." – #Celtics Brad Stevens.
— A. Sherrod Blakely (@ASherrodblakely) February 27, 2019
The Raptors shot at a decent 48.9 percent from the field and 47.2 percent from 3-point country. A look at the scorebox would reveal that the game was relatively tight in the opening quarter. However, come the second frame, Toronto outscored Boston 36-13 and never looked back.
Though Brad Stevens felt that his team lacked the defensive intensity, the statistics reveal that their downfall came in the offensive side of the court. They shot just 38.4 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from downtown. Kyrie Irving — their best offensive player — scored just a mere seven points on 3-of-10 shooting.
Only four players scored in double figures — not one of them breached the 20-point mark. Marcus Morris had 17 points, Jaylen Brown had 10, Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier had 11 points apiece.
It was expected to be a thriller. After all, the Celtics and the Raptors are considered one of the top teams in the NBA. It might even be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals. As it turned out, though, the match-up only looked good on paper.
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