Tone of Raptors-Celtics matchup changes amid shooting unrest

Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet (23) dribbles up the court against the Brooklyn Nets during the first half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Friday, Aug. 21, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Kim Klement/Pool Photo via AP)

Toronto and Boston have been two of the hottest teams in the playoffs, coming off first-round sweeps of Brooklyn and Philadelphia, respectively, in the first round.

Both have the ability to put up points in bunches and have top rated defenses.

It’s set up to be one of the most even matchups of the second round when the series tips off on Sunday after their game was postponed.

Viral cellphone video showing the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man in Wisconsin, ignited protests reminiscent of similar incidents in Georgia, Kentucky and Minnesota in recent months that caused many NBA players to speak out on racial injustice.

It came to a head when the NBA decided to postpone scheduled playoff games after the Milwaukee Bucks chose not to take the floor Wednesday for their Game 5, first-round matchup against Orlando.

That was on the heels of Lowry raising the possibility of Toronto not playing Thursday’s Game 1 against Boston. Teammate Fred VanVleet acknowledged the players had a meeting but wouldn’t elaborate.

But players decided Friday to return the court and finish the playoffs. Before that decision, VanVleet had said the tone of the series had been altered by the Blake shooting.

“I was pretty excited and then we all had to watch Jacob Blake get shot. … That kind of changes the tone of things,” he said. “It’s supposed to not be in vain. It’s just starting to feel like everything we’re doing is just going through the motions, nothing’s changing.”

Blake’s shooting also affected Celtics players.

Jaylen Brown tweeted “I want to go protest” on Tuesday and made an impassioned plea for justice after practice.

Blake’s “kids will never unsee that,” Brown said. “His family will never unsee that. And, frankly, I will never unsee it. People post my jersey all the time, No. 7. Every time I look at my jersey now, what I see is a Black man being shot seven times.”

INJURY WATCH

Both teams are battling injuries to key players.

Lowry sprained his left ankle in Game 4 against the Nets and is day to day.

The Celtics, too, are adjusting after losing Gordon Hayward to a right ankle sprain in the opening game of their first-round series. He was given a four-week recovery window and is currently back in Boston rehabbing.

NUMBERS GAME

Even without Hayward, the Celtics are playing as well as they have all season on the offensive end with three players averaging more than 20 points per game.

Jayson Tatum is averaging 27.0 points per game on 48.7% shooting and 9.8 rebounds. He’s also shooting 45.2% from the 3-point line. Fellow All-Star Kemba Walker is averaging 24.3 points on 49.3% shooting and Brown is right behind him at 21.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

BENCH BATTLE

Toronto’s biggest advantage may be in bench scoring. The Raptors’ reserves enter the series averaging 56.5 points per game, best among all playoff teams. The Celtics’ bench contributed only 20 points per game in the first round. With Hayward out, Stevens said it may mean continuing to play Tatum and Brown more with the second unit to try and mitigate the deficiency.

“Historically, (Toronto has) gone deep in their bench in playoff series. They’ve played their starters a ton of minutes, but they clearly have great confidence in their bench, and obviously the bench had 100 points in their last game, and that’s been huge,” Stevens said.