Boston Celtics (1-0) at Toronto Raptors (1-1)
Friday, October 10, 2025
7:00 PM ET
Preseason Game #2, Road Game #2
TV: NBCSB, TSN, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, TSN Radio 1050
Scotiabank Arena
After a convincing win over the Grizzlies in their first preseason game, the Celtics now face off with the division rival Toronto Raptors. The Raptors are 1-1 so far in the preseason, having lost 112-108 to the Denver Nuggets and won 130-122 over the Sacramento Kings. This is the 3rd of 6 games for the Raptors and the 2nd of 4 games for the Celtics.
The Celtics are split about evenly between returning and new players. They have 9 returning players and 8 new players on the team this season. Gone are Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday and Luke Kornet. New players include Anfernee Simons, Josh Minott, Chris Boucher, Hugo Gonzalez, Max Shulga, and Amari Williams. RJ Lewis, and Luka Garza. Learning each other’s tendencies and building chemistry will be important in this preseason.
The Raptors have not changed all that much from last season. They lost Chris Boucher to the Celtics in free agency. They added Sandro Mamukelashvili, also in free agency. They added Collin Boyles with the 9th pick in the draft and Alijah Martin with the 39th pick in the draft. Their will be looking to build on their foundation and develop young talent.
The Celtics talked about war-like practices. Several players and coaches have said that this has been the hardest training camp that they have been a part of. They have vowed to play fast and hard this season. They backed up that vow in their first game against the Grizzlies and hopefully they keep it up in this game and throughout the preseason and into the regular season.
Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons and Neemias Queta all sat out the first game for rest. I’m guessing that all 3 will start in this game and Derrick White, Xavier Tillman and Sam Hauser will either rest or come off the bench. Of course I could be all wrong and Joe will start 5 completely different players. I’m thinking Jaylen Brown will start once again as he doesn’t like sitting out. For the Raptors, I’m including starters similar to their first 2 games.
Jayson Tatum will once again sit out this game due to the torn Achilles. However he has fans excited after dunking recently, just 5 months after his surgery. Jordan Walsh is questionable after leaving Wednesday’s game with a groin injury. For the Raptors, Scotty Barnes missed Wednesday’s game with left knee tendinopathy and Jakob Poeltl missed Wedneday’s game with back soreness. Ulrich Chomche was out Wednesday for undisclosed reasons. All 3 are day to day.
Possible Starting Lineups
Point Guard
NBA Playoffs 2025 - New York Knicks v Boston Celtics
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
Immanuel Quickley
NBAE via Getty Images
Payton Pritchard vs Immanuel Quickley
Shooting Guard
Anfernee Simons
Getty Images
RJ Barrett
Getty Images
Anfernee Simons vs RJ Barrett
Small Forward
Jaylen Brown
Getty Images
Ochai Agbaji
Getty Images
Jaylen Brown vs Ochai Agbaji
Power Forward
Chris Boucher
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Brandon Ingram
Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
Chris Boucher vs Brandon Ingram
Neemias Queta
Getty Images
Jonathan Mogbo
NBAE via Getty Images
Neemias Queta vs Jonathan Mogbo
Celtics Reserves
Derrick White
Josh Minott
Wendell Moore, Jr
Kendall Brown
Ron Harper, Jr
Jalen Bridges
Xavier Tillman
Jordan Walsh
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
2-Way Players
RJ Luis, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/Out
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Jordan Walsh (groin) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Raptors Reserves
Jamison Battle
Gradey Dick
AJ Lawson
Sandro Mamukelashvili
Collin Murray-Boyles
Jared Rhoden
David Roddy
Olivier Sarr
Jamal Shead
Garrett Temple
Ja’Kobe Walter
2-Way Players
Ulrich Chomche
Chucky Hepburn
Alijah Marlin
Injuries/Out
Scottie Barnes (knee) questionable
Ulrich Chomche (undisclosed) questionable
Jakob Poeltl (back) questionable
Head Coach
Darko Rajakovic
Key Matchups
Chris Boucher
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Brandon Ingram
Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
Chris Boucher vs Brandon Ingram
Ingram joined the Raptors at the trade deadline last year but didn’t play with them in the 2024-25 season because he was injured. In the first 2 games of the preseason, he averaged 20 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 48% from the field and 52% from beyond the arc. Chris Boucher started at power forward for the Celtics on Wednesday but may or may not start in this one.
Anfernee Simons
David Butler II-Imagn Images
RJ Barrett
Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Anfernee Simons vs RJ Barrett
In the first 2 games for the Raptors, Barrett averaged 16 points, 3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1steal per game while shooting 42.8% from the field and 55% from beyond the arc. Barrett started at shooting guard for the Raptors on Wednesday because Scottie Barnes missed the game. If Barnes is able to play, he will likely start here and Barrett will move to small forward. It’s just a guess that Simons starts here for the Celtics.
Honorable Mention
Payton Pritchard vs Immanuel Quickley
Quickly started the first 2 games for Toronto and I’m going to guess that he starts here. Over the first 2 games, he averaged 8 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 36.3% from the field and 29% from beyond the arc. Payton Pritchard had the first game off and so I’m guessing that he gets the start here and will be anxious to make his mark on the game.
Keys to the Game
Defense - Whether it is Summer League, Preseason, Regular Season, or Playoffs, defense will always be the key to winning. In the preseason so far, the Celtics are ranked 8th with a defensive rating of 97.2 while the Raptors are ranked 19th with a defensive rating of 111.4. The Celtics have vowed to emphasize defense this season and they showed that they plan to follow through on it against the Grizzlies. They need to continue to play tough lock down defense in every game.
Rebound - As with defense, rebounding will always be a key to winning every game. The Celtics Pulled down 49 rebounds on Wednesday and the Raptors averaged 40 rebounds over their first 2 games. The Celtics will need to rebound as a team with players crashing the boards from every position. The Celtics can’t score without the ball and rebounding is a great way to get the ball and to get extra possessions.
Take Care of the Ball
Both of these teams have limited turnovers so far in the preseason, with the Celtics ranking 2nd in the league with just 13 turnovers on Wednesday against the Grizzlies. The Raptors are ranked 4th with 14.5 turnovers averaged in their first 2 games. The Celtics must continue to make careful passes and avoid turnovers if they want to keep winning.
X-Factors
Rust and Chemistry- This is the Celtics second preseason game with a lot of new faces. They didn’t show a lot of rust in their first game and hopefully that will continue in this game. The Raptors have already played two games already and have just a few new players to work into their system. The Celtics played well together on Wednesday and hopefully will continue to build chemistry with each game.
Preseason - The preseason is a time for the coaches to get a look at players who may or may not make the team, to experiment with lineups and different plays. Wins and losses are not as important as learning things about the players and the team. I expect that Joe will play a different rotation than he did on Wednesday and hopefully they will play well together.