TORONTO – There were no histrionics at the end, no yapping or dancing. Instead, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan made a beeline for Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, whom Lowry hugged and patted. The Raptors all-stars worked their way through the Celtics stragglers, while C.J. Miles and Kyrie Irving had a quiet five-minute conversation in and around it all. Handshakes, laughs and smiles.
They’ll see each other again.
They know it.
And as Stevens evenly and dispassionately sent all the credit to Toronto in his post-game session, somebody asked him whether this 20-point defeat at the hands of the Raptors – a score that flattered the Celtics hugely – was just one of those nights.
“Nah, we got our butts kicked by a really good team,” Stevens said. “They overwhelmed us physically and from a speed standpoint. The one thing you never do as a coach is ‘chalk it up as one of those nights.’ Maybe at the end of the year when you look back at the whole season you do. But there’s too much … first of all, it takes credit away from the team and what they did to us. And secondly, you know, we have to compete at a better level physically.
“That’s the part that really stood out to me. I thought their pace and physicality was different than ours.”
The Celtics were down 58-37 at the half but that’s really of no consequence. This was a team, after all, that was 7-6 when losing by 15 points or more at the half. The rest of the league combined had 62 wins in that category. And although Irving was making a return after missing three games and was clearly not up to speed, well, he’s Kyrie Irving. The Celtics aren’t a great offensive team but they do lock in on defence and rely on getting stops to get back in games.
Stevens might be guilty of inflating the Raptors’ tires here, ahead of a possible post-season series. But he said he knew there’d be no comeback; he knew his team was dead six minutes into the game.
“We’ve been unbelievable coming back, but this looked different and felt different,” Stevens said. “I thought we were going to have a hard time getting back in the thing. That’s why we didn’t go to anybody after the third quarter.”
It was the second consecutive game in which the Raptors rested their entire starting lineup for the fourth quarter, during which time the Raptors bench poured in 28 points. All told it was the third consecutive game in which Toronto’s bench scored 50 points or more.
DeRozan had 15 points.
“If he had his normal day,” Stevens deadpanned, “he would have had 50 the way we were playing.”
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The Raptors reserves were the topic of much conversation.
“I felt like they came out, did everything they wanted to do and (the bench) helped them build the lead and then, in the third quarter, the starters kept it going,” said Al Horford.
Added Stevens: “First of all, their bench has been killing everybody. Starters and bench … whoever’s on the court against them, they’ve been great.”
Irving finished with 17 points and three assists in 22 minutes and chided himself for not doing a better job of integrating himself into the lineup. But he was quick to note: This isn’t the same Raptors team. This bench has changed the equation.
“They played like an experienced, veteran group,” said Irving. “They are the best unit in the league and they have confidence in themselves. Delon (Wright) and (Fred) VanVleet play off each other and (Pascal) Siakam is just running rim-to-rim every single time. (Jakob) Poeltl is protecting the rim … and then you fill on Kyle and DeMar with that group and they play at an unbelievable pace.”
So give that one to the Raptors. The Celtics might have a different look the next time they meet, with Gordon Hayward possibly a factor and whomever else the Celtics acquire at the trade deadline in tow.
Old friend Greg Monroe could be along, too, and those changes could mean the Celtics bench would undergo its own transformation. In the meantime, the respect is real and sincere.
Just one of those nights for the Celtics? Yeah … I don’t think so. They don’t think so; they can’t afford to think so.
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