The Celtics will be facing a very shorthanded Raptors squad on Friday night at TD Garden. Toronto downgraded two key starters ahead of tipoff, ruling out Scottie Barnes (knee) and Brandon Ingram (thumb) for the matchup after both were originally listed as questionable. Starting center Jakob Poeltl also remains out with a back injury.
The Celtics will be without reserve forward Josh Minott for the second straight game due to a sprained ankle. Joe Mazzulla said he remains day-to-day with the injury.
Barnes and Ingram are two of the Raptors top three scorers on the roster this season, averaging 21.8 points and 19.1 respectively. Without them, the team will be heavily reliant on Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett for scoring, as those will be the only two players healthy on the active roster that average more than 10 points per game.
The Celtics have won the first two head-to-head meetings between the teams this year, so a win on Friday night would secure the head-to-head tiebreaker. Toronto currently sits just one game behind Boston for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. They enter Friday’s game having won three straight games.
The Celtics and Raptors tip off at 7 p.m. at TD Garden Friday night.