Game Preview - Maine at Raptors 905 - Jan. 30, 2024
By Maine Celtics Staff /January 30, 2024
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Game details:
Matchup: Maine Celtics (6-7) at Raptors 905 (5-8)
Location: Paramount Fine Foods Centre; Mississauga, Ontario
Tipoff: 7:30 PM EST
Streaming: NBAGLeague.com, NBA TV Canada
The Maine Celtics have traveled north of the border to round out the month of January with a back-to-back set against Raptors 905.
The Celtics and Raptors have already met twice this season, with the home team claiming victory in each contest. The 905 earned a 125-114 win on Dec. 1 in Mississauga, then Maine returned to the Expo and beat the Raptors 130-112 on Dec. 10.
Breaking down the Raptors:
The 905 are a much different team than what they showed during the Showcase. After finishing the Showcase with a record of 4-12, the Raptors have already eclipsed that win total just 13 games into the regular season. The biggest factor in the turnaround? A significantly improved defense.
During the Showcase, the Raptors were 27th in defense with a 112.6 defensive rating. Now, they’ve knocked nearly four points off their defensive rating, catapulting them into the top-7 defenses in the league. Transition defense is the key for the 905 -- they allow 10.2 opponent fast break points per game, the fewest in the league. Combined with a pace of play that sits in the top-10 themselves, the Raptors’ formula becomes clear; push the pace off defensive rebounds and hustle to get back when allowing defensive rebounds, maximizing their own chances at creating quicker possessions while limiting them for their opponent.
Conversely, the Raptors rank 30th out of 31 teams in the G League offensively, due in large part to a league-worst 55.8% true shooting. Synergy Sports grades the 905 as “average” or worse in every Play Type category except for Cuts, Offensive Rebounds and Post-Ups. When it comes to the P&R, Spot-Ups, Isolations, etc., Maine’s top-10 defense should have the upper hand. Raptors Two-Way guard Javon Freeman-Liberty is the league’s eighth-leading scorer at 23.9 points per game shooting 47.5% from the field, but no other Raptor averages more than NBA veteran Justise Winslow’s 15.8 per game.
Keys to the game:
Protect the paint: The Raptors score the highest percentage of points in the paint (53.7%) than any team in the G League. The Celtics block 7.8 shots per game as a team and hold opponents to 49.1 points in the paint per game, ninth fewest in the league. James Banks III and Kylor Kelley, the league’s second-leading shot blocker at 3.1 per game, locking down the paint tonight could loom especially large.
Slow and steady: Maine plays at one of the slower paces in the league, while the 905 like to speed things up. The Celtics can make the Raptors adjust, impose their will, and dictate the tempo rather than allowing the 905 to get up and down.