Celtics, VFL Grant Williams set to take on Raptors in NBA playoffs

A brief preview of the second-round NBA Playoff series between the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors.

ORLANDO — Grant Williams and the Boston Celtics will begin their second-round series in the NBA playoffs Thursday night.

The Celtics, seeded third in the Eastern Conference, will take on the Toronto Raptors in a best-of-7 series, which begins Thursday night in the league’s Central Florida bubble. Tip-off is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET.

The Raptors are the defending NBA champions. Boston, however, went 3-1 against Toronto in the regular season.

Williams, who left the University of Tennessee in 2019, after his junior season as the two-time defending Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, was drafted in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft by Boston.

The power forward was selected with the 22nd overall pick.

He played in all four of Boston’s first-round playoff games and scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out three assists and had two blocks.

Both the Celtics and Raptors swept their opening-round series. Toronto breezed past the Brooklyn Nets while Boston knocked off the Philadelphia 76ers.