The Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics have not met in the playoffs prior to tomorrow. As two of the most balanced teams in the league, we’re bound to see an entertaining back-and-forth. Both are coming off easy sweeps too.

HOME TEAM: #2 Toronto Raptors (0-0)

The defending champion Raptors ran past the Brooklyn Nets in the first round with a 4-0 domination. They averaged 126.3 points and 17.8 threes per game (both 2nd in the postseason), and won by an average of 20.5 points.

Such momentum is what the Raptors need as they have struggled against the Celtics all season. They lost the season series, 3-1, scoring just 105.3 points and committing 20.5 turnovers per contest. One of the losses included the 122-100 blowout defeat three weeks ago.

As always, Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, and Fred VanVleet will be the three guys to watch out for. All three have considerable numbers – Siakam and Lowry both averaged 20-plus against the Celtics in the regular season, while VanVleet is fresh-off a series where he had a team-leading 21.3 PPG.

Watch out for the entire bench, though. The bench mob dropped 100 points in Game 4 versus the Nets.

ROAD TEAM: #3 Boston Celtics (0-0)

The Celtics’ first-round sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers was quite the showcase. With many expecting a competitive battle, they simply bullied their way and got the best of the Sixers, especially in crunch time.

The usual suspects led the Celtics, as Jayson Tatum (27 PPG), Kemba Walker (24.3), and Jaylen Brown (21.5 PPG) each averaged 20 or more in the series. The sweep and good offensive play are good jumping-off points, but note that Tatum had a rough go around opposite the Raptors in the regular season. While the other two shined, he only mustered 16.5 PPG on 37.7% in the four meetings.

Brown has been the best Celtic in the match-ups versus Toronto. In the four games, he’s at 23 PPG with a shooting split of 55.9% / 50.0% / 82.4%. It includes the 30-point performance on Christmas Day showdown, where he shot an efficient 10-for-13.

Boston is just ninth in scoring (112.3 PPG) in the playoffs, but they care of the ball well and currently commit the fewest turnovers (10.5 per game).

PREDICTIONS:

Look for a focused Raptors. They’ll come out with a lot of energy and will be eager to fire back from the losses. The Siakam and Tatum match-up is again interesting despite the latter’s struggles.

I expect the Celtics to come out on top in a hard-fought battle, 114-111.