Ranking the 10 Best Players in Celtics-Raptors Series

The Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors will meet in the postseason for the first time ever during the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The third-seeded Celtics are tasked with beating the Raptors, the No. 2 seed, without forward Gordon Hayward. Hayward is expected to miss the series after injuring his ankle in Game 1 of Boston's first-round series against Philadelphia.

Pascal Siakam and Jaylen Brown are set to battle in the Conference Semifinals. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

With Hayward out for Boston, the Celtics will be devoid their fourth-best player. So who are the best players in this series? Let's rank the top-10 ahead of the Celtics-Raptors best-of-seven showdown.

10. OG Anunoby

Toronto's starting small forward, OG Anunoby is most known for his defense. He guarded Brooklyn's Caris LeVert well in the opening round, holding the wing to 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting in total minutes of 1-on-1 defense in the Raptors' sweep.

9. Normal Powell

The Raptors hold a +62 with Norman Powell on the court, the best player +/- of the 2020 NBA postseason. The guard averaged 17.5 points in the first round, shooting 60.5% from the floor and 45.5% on 3's.

Powell shined in the Raptors' series-clinching victory over the Nets. He went off for 29 points (9-for-14), five rebounds, two assists and two blocks in just 24 minutes.

8. Serge Ibaka

Serge Ibaka, Toronto's top reserve, averaged 19.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in the opening round. 

Due to in-season injuries to Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol, Ibaka started 27 games this season. He logged 15.4 points and 8.2 rebounds in 55 appearances. Ibaka is a far more important player than Gasol, the starting center who failed to crack this list.

7. Marcus Smart

One of the best defensive players in basketball, Marcus Smart is the heart and soul of the Celtics. He registered career highs in points (12.9), assists (4.9) and free throw percentage (83.6) this season.

In the wake of Hayward's injury, Smart has been pressed into Boston's starting lineup. Due to various injuries for the Celtics across the year, Smart made 40 starts in 60 games played in 2019-20.

6. Fred VanVleet

Fred VanVleet was Toronto's best player in its four-game shellacking of the Nets. He averaged team-bests in points (21.3) and assists (7.8), while shooting a remarkable 55.9 percent from downtown. 

An impending free agent, the combo guard will be one of the most coveted players on the open market this offseason.

5. Kemba Walker

Boston's prized offseason acquisition, Kemba Walker finally won his first career playoff series, producing 24.3 points in the Celtics' sweep of the 76ers. He poured in a game-best 32 points in the series finale.

Walker, a starting guard for the Eastern Conference All-Star squad, had just four turnovers all series despite a hefty 26.9% usage rate.

4. Jaylen Brown

Jaylen Brown, Boston's top two-way player, accumulated 21.5 points with 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and one steal per contest in the first round.

3. Kyle Lowry

Lowry's status (ankle sprain) for Game 1 remains a mystery, but assuming he's good to go, the Raptors' longtime All-Star point guard can be expected to do the playmaking on offense and spearheading the NBA's top-ranked defense. 

2. Pascal Siakam

Siakam led the Raptors in scoring and player efficiency this season. An All-Star starter, Siakam is Toronto's best player, a year after being the No. 2 option on its championship-winning squad.

1. Jayson Tatum

Jayson Tatum was on fire against Philadelphia and looks like a true superstar. Holding massive value to the Celtics, Boston owned a +19 net rating in his 145 minutes on the court versus the 76ers. The Celtics logged a -9 during his 47 minutes on the bench.

Tatum produced team-bests per-game marks in points (27.0), rebounds (9.8) and blocks (2.3) in round one.

Kemba Walker to Sign 4-Year Deal with Celtics

Kemba Walker has told the Charlotte Hornets of his intention to sign with the Boston Celtics when free agency officially begins. Walker will finalize a formal agreement for a four-year, $141 million deal with the Celtics, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Walker averaged 25.6 points, 5.9 assists and 4.4 rebounds last season, playing in all 82 games. The 29-year-old three-time All-Star earned All-NBA Third Team Honors last year, his best season as a pro. Walker spent the first eight years of his career in Charlotte, reaching the playoffs just twice. The Hornets failed to put sufficient talent around the talented point guard. Walker is the only Hornets' player to make an All-Star team since he was drafted ninth overall in 2011.

Boston can renounce the rights to restricted free agent point guard Terry Rozier to clear the necessary cap space to ink Walker to a max contract. Walker will replace All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, who plans to leave the Celtics after just two seasons to join the Brooklyn Nets. Irving has an agreement in place with the Nets on a four-year, $141 million contract.

All-Star Kemba Walker will sign with the Celtics and replace the departing Kyrie Irving as Boston's starting point guard. (AP Photo)

The Hornets declined to offer the supermax contract to Walker, paving the way for the former UConn star to leave in free agency. Charlotte's unwillingness to move Walker at last season's trade deadline could set the franchise back for years. Walker was the team's only attractive asset, yet management opted to keep him in an attempt to reach the postseason. Charlotte failed to reach its goal and missed the playoffs for the third straight season.

As for Walker, he finally gets the chance to play with formidable talent. He is set to join a starting lineup that will include Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and former All-Star Gordon Hayward. 

Brown, Hayward Lead Celtics Past Mavs

Gordon Hayward followed up his top scoring game as a member of the Boston Celtics with an all-around terrific outing, accumulating 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in a 114-93 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night. Hayward put together another strong performance off the bench after he scored 35 points on Wednesday night.

Jaylen Brown, starting for the injured Marcus Morris (neck), posted a game-high 21 points to continue his hot streak. In his last five games, Brown has averaged 17 points and four rebounds. He is shooting 63.5 percent from the field, 46.7 percent on 3's and 70.6 percent from the free throw line in this stretch.

Jaylen Brown has scored 20 or more points three times in the past seven games. (AP Photo)

Al Horford logged 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists—tying Hayward for a team-high. Point guard Terry Rozier, filling in for Kyrie Irving (scratched cornea), dished seven assists. Boston totaled 35 assists on 42 made field goals.

Rookie Luka Doncic had 19 points and nine assists for the Mavs. Harrison Barnes registered a team-best 20 points, while DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and corralled 15 rebounds.

The Mavs are 3-16 on the road this season.

The Celtics play the third contest of their four-game homestand Monday night versus the Brooklyn Nets.

Las Vegas Win Projections: Take the Over for Celtics

The Westgate Las Vegas Superbook released its over/under win totals for the 2018-19 NBA season, and the Boston Celtics are placed at 57.5 wins. The over/under of 57.5 victories is the highest in the Eastern Conference and ranks second in the entire league, trailing only the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors (62.5).

The Celtics won 55 games last season, their most victories since Brad Stevens took over the coaching duties in 2013. Because they accomplished this feat with Gordon Hayward sidelined for all but five minutes of the season—in addition to Kyrie Irving missing the final quarter of the year with a knee injury—taking the over total of 57.5 victories seems like free money.

Not only are All-Stars Hayward and Irving returning for the Celtics, their lineup also features Al Horford and two rising stars in 21-year-old Jaylen Brown and 20-year-old Jayson Tatum.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum could help Boston reach 60 wins in 2018-19. — by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Brown is entering his third season in the league, while Tatum will embark on his sophomore campaign after finishing third in the voting for Rookie of the Year.

Both Brown and Tatum could further develop their overall games and may even reach stardom after shining in the 2018 postseason.

Retaining their two biggest free agents, Marcus Smart and Aron Baynes, the Celtics are returning the squad that reached the seventh game of the Conference Finals.

The Celtics should dominate the East, even with the Toronto Raptors’ acquisition of Kawhi Leonard, who brings a nearly-unmatched NBA résumé—but also a lot of question marks and baggage—north of the border.

With its highest projected win total since 2008-09, expect Boston to win over 60 games and earn the top seed in the East for the second time in three seasons.

Bradley-For-Morris Trade Gives Celtics Another Defender vs. LeBron, Paves Way for Jaylen Brown to Start

                In order to make room for Gordon Hayward and his reported 4-year, $128 million max contract, the Boston Celtics opted to part ways with shooting guard Avery Bradley. The Celtics traded Bradley, one of the league’s best perimeter defenders, and a 2019 second-round pick to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for forward Marcus Morris.

                Before President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge and his team sent Bradley to Detroit, Boston reportedly shopped Marcus Smart and Jae Crowder in trade talks. When the 2017-18 season concludes, Smart will be a free agent—albeit a restricted one—like Bradley (unrestricted), but the popular opinion held that Crowder was the most likely to be moved because he plays small forward, the same position as the newly-signed All-Star forward Hayward, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the No. 3 overall pick from June’s NBA Draft. That logic was flawed in many aspects. As evidenced by the 2017 Finals, the NBA is becoming a positionless league—a sentiment echoed by Celtics head coach Brad Stevens.

                “I don’t have the five positions anymore,” Stevens said. “It may be as simple as three positions now, where you’re either a ball-handler, a wing or a big.”

                By Stevens’ definition, Crowder is a wing—one who is fully capable of starting alongside Hayward. Crowder’s contract—which pays him $6.7 million this season, $7.3 million in 2018-19 and $7.8 million in 2019-20—is one of the best in the league and makes him an asset worth holding onto. Furthermore, the 6’9” 27-year-old remains Boston’s top defensive option against Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James.

                The Celtics realistically had no shot of re-signing Bradley in the summer of 2018. They just inked Hayward to a massive deal—a summer after signing Al Horford to a monster contract—and still need to pay Isaiah Thomas, a free agent in 2018 who averaged 28.9 points per game last season and finished 5^th in MVP voting. Teams, including the Pistons, will likely offer Bradley a lucrative, long-term deal, perhaps in the $25 million (annual) range, a contract the Celtics will not be able to match.

                Even if the Celtics could fit Bradley in the team’s cap, it’d be senseless to throw massive amount of money at the guard who has sit his ceiling as a player. Not when his understudy Smart, 23 and three years younger than Bradley, can do many of the same things defensively and is still evolving on offense. Smart took a big leap this past season, elevating his scoring and ball distribution on offense, while also improving his off-ball guarding and one-on-one defense.

                Assuming Crowder starts next to Hayward and Horford in the frontcourt and Smart continues to be the first guy off the bench for the Celtics, Jaylen Brown is set to become a permanent member of Boston’s starting-five. Brown played much better as a starter, averaging 9.5 points in 20 starts and reaching double-figures in scoring 10 times. Brown, who saw in uptick in minutes as the season wound down and even managed to be a part of the Celtics’ playoff rotation, has as much upside as any player from the 2016 NBA Draft Class. And while the Summer League is hardly a preview of things to come, it’s impossible to ignore Brown’s dominance in the exhibition contests in Salt Lake City. In the summer league games in Utah, Brown averaged 17.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

Jaylen Brown looks to build upon a strong rookie season. (Winslow Townson/AP)

               Brown’s insertion into the starting unit also opens up more playing time at the wing positions to rookie Jayson Tatum and the newly-acquired Marcus Morris, a tweener forward who last season averaged 14 points and 4.6 rebounds per game on 42 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point territory.           

                The 6’9” Morris is not nearly the player Bradley is, but he provides the Celtics with two things the often-injured Bradley did not: elite durability and a lengthy defender to guard LeBron. Morris has played in 77 or more games in each of the past five seasons and no player guarded LeBron more effectively than Morris in the 2015-16 regular season.

One under the radar positive about Marcus Morris? Durability. Here's his games played totals over last 5 seasons:
77
82
81
80
79

— Brian Robb (@CelticsHub) July 7, 2017

            According to ESPN.com’s Tom Haberstroh, James averaged just 20.5 points per 100 possessions when defended by Morris that season—much lower than his 36.5 points per 100 possessions average on the season.

LeBron James has words with Marcus Morris, then a member of the Pistons. (USA Today Sports/Tim Fuller)

                In this past regular season, Morris ranked 66^th among all players in defensive win shares. The only two Celtics players that ranked ahead of Morris?—the aforementioned Crowder and Smart.

                While it may be tough for the Celtics to wave goodbye to Bradley, who became a solid role player under former head coach Doc Rivers before ultimately becoming a First-Team All-Defense member (2015-16) and reliable offensive player (16.3 points per game in 2016-17) under Stevens, he was the odd man out after a trade became inevitable following the Hayward signing.

                        The Celtics were never going to get equal value for Bradley—not when it became obvious they were looking to deal the guard before he hit free agency—but acquiring another guy for Stevens to throw at LeBron on defense is hardly a major loss. And while Bradley’s tough-nosed defense and underrated shot-making ability will be certainly missed, especially as the Celtics’ newcomers take time to jell with their teammates, his departure opens the door for Brown to potentially become a star, something Bradley will never be.

Celtics Should Offer Pelicans The Motherload To Acquire Davis

                Is it even possible to land New Orleans Pelicans forward/center Anthony Davis in a trade? After all, the budding superstar is arguably the best big man in basketball. The 6'10'' Davis leads the league in blocks per game (2.5) and ranks second in points (29.1) and sixth in rebounds (12.3) per contest. His player efficiency rating (PER) of 28.3 trails only leading-MVP candidate Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

            Problem is, the Pelicans (15-24) aren’t winning and are well on their way to a second consecutive dismal season. Davis shouldn’t be held entirely at fault, though, for New Orleans’s struggles as the talent surrounding him sucks. The second-best player on the roster, Jrue Holiday, is far from a star and in the modern-day NBA, teams need at least three upper-echelon players to seriously contend. Not only does New Orleans lack a co-star for Davis, the franchise is devoid of young talent with high upside, outside of perhaps rookie guard Buddy Hield.

            Signing a five-year, $127 million extension in June 2015—then the richest contract in league history—Davis won’t be a free agent until 2021. Even with Davis under team control for another four years after this season ends, New Orleans should at least entertain offers for its superstar. The Pelicans finished with the sixth-worst record a season ago and will likely find themselves in the lottery again this spring, so the best long-term option for New Orleans may be to blow up its mess of a roster and start fresh by accumulating assets for the future. 

            With that in mind, the Boston Celtics—who always come up in trade discussions because of their treasure cove of draft picks and young talent—may be the most worthwhile trade partner for New Orleans to engage with if Davis is, by any means, on the market.

            Now one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics believe they aren't far from a championship-level squad—provided they add a premiere star to their roster. And that, of course, is easier said than done. Without grabbing another star to compliment All-Stars Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford, the Celtics will be a (significant) step behind the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers for the foreseeable future. Boston is good—just not nearly good enough to win a title.

            Acquiring Davis gives the Celtics at least a puncher's chance at upsetting the LeBron James-led Cavaliers in the East. For Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge, it makes sense to pull the trigger on a blockbuster deal by (finally) making use of the Nets’ first-round draft picks he obtained in the trade that sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn.

            To acquire an elite caliber player like Davis, the Celtics need to throw everything they have to offer at New Orleans. This includes parting ways with the Nets’ first-round picks in 2017 (the Celtics own the right to swap their own first-round selection with the Nets) and 2018.

            In addition to two first-round picks—with both likely to be top-10 selections at the very least—the Pelicans will also want some young talent. Shooting guard Avery Bradley, a member of the NBA All-Defensive First Team in 2016 and a candidate for 2017 All-Star Game, will be sought after by New Orleans if it ultimately decides to make a deal with Boston. Jaylen Brown—the No. 3 overall selection by Boston in the 2016 Draft—and Jae Crowder are forwards who New Orleans would love to acquire as they plan for the future.  
            Using ESPN's trade machine, a deal is constructed below between Boston and New Orleans. In addition to the aforementioned bigger-name players, the trade also jettisons Hield to Boston—as the Celtics will need to fill the void at shooting guard with Bradley’s departure—and sends Kelly Olynyk to New Orleans—which makes the trade contractually possible and gives the Pelicans a young big man who plays the same position as Davis.

The players set to be traded in the proposal deal between Boston and New Orleans are posted above. Additionally, the New Orleans Pelicans will receive the right to swap their first-round pick with the Brooklyn Nets in the 2017 NBA Draft and obtain the Nets' 2018 first-round pick.

        

            In making this deal, Boston becomes a legitimate contender for the Larry O’Brien trophy. Meanwhile, the Pelicans stockpile assets for the future, in addition to netting young talent in Brown and quality starters with Bradley and Crowder. The trade worsens the Pelicans in the short-term, a positive for a franchise (that should be) looking to completely overhaul its roster and hit rock-bottom in hopes of getting as many high-end selections in the NBA Draft as possible.

            Time for Ainge to pick up the phone and call Pelicans General Manager Dell Demps.

*Player/Team Stats accurate as of 1/12/17

Trade Review

Boston acquires: Anthony Davis and Buddy Hield

New Orleans acquires: Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Jaylen Brown, Kelly Olynyk, the right to swap its first-round pick with the Nets in the 2017 NBA Draft and the Nets' 2018 first-round pick