The Toronto Raptors suffered a tough loss against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night, with a final score of 126-114. While the Raptors put up a strong fight, their poor three-point defence ultimately cost them the game.
Throughout the night, the Celtics were able to consistently hit three-point shots, with a total of 20 made threes compared to the Raptors’ 11. This significant difference in three-pointers ultimately gave the Celtics the edge they needed to secure the win.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse acknowledged the team’s struggles with defending the three-point line, stating, “We just didn’t do a good enough job of getting out to their shooters and contesting those shots.” This lack of defensive effort allowed the Celtics to gain momentum and maintain a lead throughout the game.
This is not the first time the Raptors have struggled with three-point defence this season. In fact, they currently rank 22nd in the league for three-point defence, allowing opponents to shoot an average of 37.3% from beyond the arc.
While the Raptors have shown strong defensive efforts in other areas, such as steals and blocks, their inability to defend the three-point line has proven to be a major weakness. This is something they will need to address and improve upon if they hope to have a successful season.
Despite the loss, the Raptors remain in a strong position in the Eastern Conference with a record of 16-16. However, if they want to continue their success and make a deep playoff run, they will need to address their three-point defence and make it a priority moving forward.
In the end, the Raptors’ poor three-point defence ultimately cost them the game against the Celtics. It is clear that this is an area they will need to focus on and improve upon in order to achieve their goals for the season.
