National Basketball Association

What To Expect In Celtics-Raptors

Updated Aug. 30, 2020 11:38 a.m. ET

One of the two Eastern Conference semifinal matchups will feature two teams that shockingly have no playoff history.

The defending NBA champions and No. 2 seed Toronto Raptors will face off with the No. 3 seed Boston Celtics in the second round of the NBA playoffs beginning Sunday, marking the first time the two franchises have ever lined each other up in the postseason.

And despite the Raptors being the higher seed, Boston has effectively had Toronto's number this season.

The Celtics won the season series 3-1, with one of those wins coming in their home opener on Oct. 25 and their last win over Toronto coming on Aug. 7 in the Orlando bubble.

The Celtics averaged 112.2 points in their four matchups, while the Raptors averaged 105.2 points, and in all four games, the team that won the rebounding battle won the game.

The Celtics also won two of the three matchups with Toronto by at least 16 points, including their bubble tilt, which resulted in a 122-100 Boston win.

In those four matchups, Celtics forward Jaylen Brown led Boston in scoring with 23.0 points per game, and All-Star point guard Kemba Walker pitched in 22.8 points.

One interesting nugget about the season series between Boston and Toronto is that second year All-Star forward Jayson Tatum struggled mightily, averaging 16.5 points on 37.7% shooting from the field, down from his regular season averages of 23.4 points on 45% shooting.

For the Raptors, their lone win of the season series came on Dec. 28, when they earned a 113-97 victory in Boston behind a 30-point performance from Kyle Lowry.

Unfortunately for Toronto, their All-Star point guard might not be at full strength come Sunday, after spraining his ankle in Game 4 of the Raptors' first round series against the Brooklyn Nets.

Lowry is listed as questionable for Game 1 against the Celtics.

The Celtics are also dealing with an injury to one of their high-profile players, with star forward Gordon Hayward listed as out for Game 1 with a sprained ankle, which he suffered in Boston's first round series against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Hayward averaged 12.8 points against the Raptors this season, down from his regular season average of 17.5 points.

If there is an X-factor in the series, it's Raptors guard Fred VanVleet, who so far this postseason is leading Toronto in scoring with 21.3 points per game, while shooting 52.8% from the field and 58.5% from three-point range.