A set of temperatures for Game 5

Series reset between Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors for Game 5

Half a second. That was all the time the Toronto Raptors needed to save their season and for the Boston Celtics to squander a golden opportunity in the Eastern Conference Finals. After the miracle of OG Anunoby (and Kyle Lowry) at the horn in Game 3, Toronto has now tied the series at 2-2 with another gutsy victory in Game 4.

So where do both teams stand in this series heading into Game 5 and what can we expect in the future?

First of all, this series has been a complete routine offensively. The Raptors, as expected, have had to fight and scratch every last cube in midfield. With the Celtics locked in the scouting report, Lowry and Fred VanVleet have been unable to open passing windows for Toronto’s drive-and-kick game.

And while Pascal Siakam had a few moments on the post in Game 4, he has had great difficulty creating looks in one-on-one situations. Siakam has scored 69 points in 70 field goal attempts thus far, which isn’t exactly a great performance in his first round as a primary option. With all of these struggles getting open looks, it’s clear a major emphasis for Toronto has been letting it fly in the top 3 available, no matter how contested or how early on the shot clock.

Anunoby and VanVleet are bombing catch and shoot, Serge Ibaka pick-and-pops, and even Siakam is trying some 3-pointers off the dribble. Overall in this series, the Raptors are taking 36.4 percent of their shots from above at halftime, up from 29.7 percent in the regular season, and more than the league-leading Houston Rockets (34 percent).

This approach ultimately paid dividends in Game 4, as they converted 41 percent of these looks (after shooting a gruesome 25.8 percent on these in the first three contests).

On the other hand, Boston has also been bogged down by a stellar defense. Since Game 1, they have amassed just a 91.1 offensive rating in the middle of the court. It begins with how the most potent aspect of Boston’s attack, jumper shots from Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker, have largely dissipated throughout the series.

Toronto has done an impressive job of limiting these opportunities by: 1) putting the greats (Marc Gasol and Ibaka) closer to ball level and 2) helping Boston’s other players. Gasol, in particular, has been masterful in reading the screen and modifying its coverage in real time; At 35, he is still dominant on defense. The Raptors have over-rotated perimeter shooters all year, but the degree to which they are doing so now is absurd. It’s no coincidence that Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each have more 3s than Tatum and Walker in these four games total.

Anunoby has also received more of Tatum’s assignment, and Tatum seems a bit nervous to uncork from the deep with him around. This has allowed Lowry to roam in helping defense, where he has made some incredible plays coming out of nowhere from the weak side.

For the Celtics, the first thing to do is simplify the game and rely on the easy pass. Right now they are letting the violent rotations of the Raptors dictate the game. The results are usually pretty good every time they run a high screen and roll targeting Ibaka / Gasol, and they should get even more ruthless by exploiting this. The pocket pass is almost always there if Tatum and Walker are well covered, allowing Boston to play 4v3 situations.

Much has been said about the crazy defenses from Toronto, but the Celtics largely discovered them in Game 4, and it’s been almost exclusively man-to-man when the two Boston stars are on the floor. With that said, the Celtics seem a bit frazzled, Toronto’s defense will do it for even the best. Not only is it the different appearances of the zones, but they will also play into individual player matchups (particularly when Boston reserves are out there) and switch / pre-switch seamlessly to quell some of the Celtics’ actions.

This is where losing another solid decision maker in Gordon Hayward really hurts, and he has pushed the bank’s liabilities – Semi Ojeleye, Brad Wanamaker and Grant Williams – into higher roles. They’ve also had an unusual amount of mental lapses as a team, from letting Anunoby sneak in unopposed for offensive rebounds to losing VanVleet on the Steph 3 relocation, which I’m sure they’ll fix.

The Raptors can play better too. Siakam will surely have at least one efficient night, right? And Gasol will really have to look at the basket at some point in this series. They also had a lot of sloppy, unforced turnovers in Game 4 that I wouldn’t necessarily expect to go through with. However, it’s fair to wonder how much more Toronto headlines can give, as their total minutes they have been absurd in these last three games.

This series has been a pleasure to watch: the intensity of both sides coupled with the strategic battle between Nick Nurse and Brad Stevens. Yet despite all this granularity, the end result often comes down to the old trope “It is a league of wins or failures.”

The quality of the shot has not changed that Drastically game by game, but there’s not much you can do if Marcus Smart is going to hit five triples in a row, or if OG Anunoby is going 7-11 in a two-game stretch. This series is really about the closest you can get, and I can’t wait to see how it unfolds.