THE Toronto Raptors will continue the second stage of their road trip, heading north to visit the Portland Trail Blazers. Although the road trip didn’t start exactly the way they would have liked, this is a great opportunity for the Raptors to get a win.
Of course, it’s still unclear whether the Raptors are trying to keep their pick or pass it on to San Antonio, but everyone’s efforts, including Gary’s best shooting of the season and a career-high 18 Quickley’s assists on Thursday make it seem as if the goal is to win as many games as possible.
Portland is currently the fifth-worst team in the league, with a 17-45 record. In the midst of a rather tumultuous rebuild, they have assembled assets and strong players like Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and Deandre Ayton, but the persistent injuries plaguing the roster make it difficult to get a sense of what what the future of the team will look like.
Before the trade deadline, they acquired a familiar face in Dalano Banton, who fit in well with the team and had several outstanding performances, carving out a niche for himself. His most recent game was a 30-8-5 performance against Houston last night. With the injury report still evolving, it is still unclear who Toronto will face in the matchup.
Toronto has lost 4 of the last 5 games, but all of the losses have come against teams above .500, with the only win coming against a weaker Charlotte team.
The Raptors also have a rest advantage, with the Blazers coming off a tough loss to the Rockets last night. Toronto was also riddled with injuries, but in the absence of Scottie Barnes, RJ, IQ and Gary all stepped up and contributed effectively. Now, in a matchup against a weaker team, the Raptors have a great chance of getting back into the win column.
The only game these teams played this year was on October 30, and even though Toronto lost in that game, it’s impossible to assume the contest will be even remotely similar. For Portland, 4 of the 5 starters in this game likely won’t play tonight, and for Toronto, three of the starters are no longer on the roster and the other two appear on the injury report for the evening.
So while this game will be considerably different, it’s not difficult to establish what Toronto must do to succeed. The most important element will be the domination of the paint, the contributions of the next men.
Portland is giving up nearly 55 points in the paint per game. With Ayton injured, the problem gets worse, leaving the door open for Toronto to take advantage. With great passes from IQ, RJ, Gary and Kelly lately, it would be good to see how these guys can get things going.
Ochai proved to be an excellent cutter, and RJ and Gradey also played effectively with the ball. Since Portland struggles to protect the paint, I would like the Raptors to continue working on their ball movement and cutting plays.
With the Raptors’ long injury list heading into this game, there will be more minutes for people who haven’t seen the court much.
Nwora has had some great performances but has also struggled recently, Chris Boucher hasn’t had much playing time and the G-League guys have also struggled a bit since their conversion.
Tonight, against a weaker opponent, is a great opportunity for these guys to get going as well, and I would expect some choppy play from these guys still looking to solidify their role for the next few Last 20 games of the season.
How to watch:
TSN, 10 p.m. ET
Probable compositions:
Toronto: Immanuel Quickley, Gary Trent Jr., RJ Barrett, Ochai Agbaji, Kelly Olynyk
Portland: Anfernee Simons, Duop Reath, Dalano Banton, Kris Murray, Jerami Grant
Injuries:
Toronto: Scottie Barnes (Out; Fractured left hand), Bruce Brown (Out; Inflammation of right knee), DJ Carton (Out; Sprained right ankle), Mouhamadou Gueye (Out; Two-way G-league), Jakob Poeltl (Out; Torn ligament of left hand),
Portland: Robert Williams III (Out; right knee ligament tear), Malcolm Brogdon (Out; Right elbow tendinitis), Shaedon Sharpe (Out; Abdominal surgery), Scoot Henderson (Questionable; left adductor strain), Deandre Ayton (Questionable; right hand strain), Jabari Walker (questionable; right hip contusion)
