The Boston Celtics travel north of the border to play the Toronto Raptors at Air Canda Center on Friday.

The Celtics (1-0) showed why they're a title contender in their opener, as they rolled the Philadelphia 76ers despite struggling mightily. In fact, Boston handed Philly an 18-point defeat, despite the fact that Kyrie Irving, Al Horford and Gordon Hayward all failed to surpass 10 points scored. That just shows the incredible depth of this team, with players like Marcus Morris, Jayson Tatum, and Aron Baynes all playing a huge factor in that victory. It's not like those aforementioned stars are going to struggle every night either, so this is easily one of the toughest teams to play in the NBA. Defense is the name of the game for Boston though, as they ranked top-three last season in both points allowed and defensive efficiency. That's a recipe for winning and the unbelievable depth just adds to this team's already sky-high ceiling.

The Raptors (1-0) have a new-look team with Kawhi Leonard now in the fold and early results are very promising. In Toronto's opener, Leonard tallied 24 points and 13 rebounds while taking 22 shots in 37 minutes of action. That's all you can ask for, especially considering he played just nine games last season. It led to a 12-point win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, as Kyle Lowry posted a great line of his own. In fact, Lowry led the team with 27 points and six assists, as his leadership can't be overlooked either. What's also scary about this team is how deep their bench is, considering Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet form one of the best guard-forward bench combos in the league. That's why this team is projected to finish top-three in the east and compete with the Celtics all season long.

Toronto has been the better team in this series over recent years, winning eight of their last 12 games over Boston dating back to 2015.