With just 13 games to go, if the Raptors are going to hit the 50 win mark for the first time in franchise history (which requires 9 more wins), then beating the Knicks this afternoon is imperative. While they only have two games left against teams above .500, 7 of the 13 games left are on the road, where they are only slightly above .500 themselves.
Thankfully, the Knicks have the worst record in the league right now, even worse than the T-Wolves, who the Raptors beat this past Wednesday. And quite frankly, the T-Wolves starting five look like Hall of Famers next to the Knicks’. The Knicks were even blown out by the 76ers on Friday night. That’s a new level of bad.
And just to ensure they’re going to stay bad for the rest of the season, they running their offense through former Raptor Andrea Bargnani, who is playing even worse for the Knicks than he did for the Raptors. Enough said?
Okay, one more thing about Bargnani. He’s averaging fewer rebounds per game than 6’6 guard, Alexey Shved and only slightly more than 6’2 D-League point guard, Langston Galloway. But you need to remember that Bargnani does more important things than rebound.
To make things more interesting, the Knicks are starting three players they waived earlier in the season. Yes, you read that correctly. Three of the players in the starting lineup were actually waived by the Knicks already this season. That may be a first in NBA history. And a big middle finger to Sam Hinkie and the 76ers for thinking they know how to tank a season.
The Knicks absolutely stink and the Raptors are just begging for the season to be over. I’m not sure there’s all that much more to say.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
Will Raptor Fans Still Boo Bargnani?
It’s been two years since Bargnani was shipped unceremoniously to the Knicks and his departure coincided with the Raptors not sucking, anymore, so I don’t see Raptor fans even caring about Bargnani’s return to Toronto.
I’m just kidding, they’ll boo.
Will Valanciunas Play More Than 25 Minutes?
In his last 10 games, Valanciunas has played fewer than 25 minutes 6 times. So much “ink” has been used in the last few months about Dwane Casey’s unwillingness to use Valanciunas more, that I don’t think we need to spend much more time on it. But the fact is with just 13 games to go and Valanciunas being the Raptors’ only consistent inside scoring threat, you’d think it would be important to play him as much as possible.
But with Bargnani being the Knicks center and his unfortunate allergic reaction to paint, it’s a good bet that Casey will end up trying to match up with the Knicks rather than forcing them to match up with him and go with a small lineup for most of the game.
Are these the last days for Lou Williams as a Raptor?
Back before the trade deadline, I wrote an article that discussed a number of trade possibilities for the Raptors, and a number of readers were horrified that I would even suggest trading Lou Williams, despite the fact he’s in the last year of his contract. At the time, Williams was one of the best 6th men in the league and the Raptors were at least playing decently. Since then, his play has been bordering on awful and the Raptors have gone 15-16.
Lou Williams has always been a chucker, even when he was in Philadelphia, and he brings little else to the table but scoring. When he’s not hitting, that’s a problem, and in the last two months, Williams is shooting horribly and adding nothing else.
Williams return seemed fairly likely a couple of months ago, but that has changed. Now, spending money on a shooter who can’t shoot seems like a waste of money for a team already overpaying Grievis Vasquez, to the tune of $6.6 million, to come off the bench at the guard position.
BREAKDOWN
Starters
Did you miss the part where I said 3 of the starters were actually waived by the Knicks earlier in the season and another starter is Bargnani?
Edge: Raptors
Bench
The Knicks starters are bad, and the bench isn’t much better. They have Quincy Acy, so Raptor fans might enjoy his return.
Edge: Raptors
Coaching
Do you think, if Derek Fisher knew the collection of players he would be coaching the last couple of months of the season with, he would have still taken the job? It’s really hard to gauge anything about Fisher’s coaching ability when you have to play Andrea Bargnani 30+ minutes a game because he’s one of the few healthy players on the team who would even make most other team’s roster?
Edge: Who Knows?
PREDICTION
With Kyle Lowry questionable for the game, the Raptors need to actually play defense, not take stupid shots and for Casey to coach half decently, so it’s really up in the air, isn’t it?
With the Raptors willingness to play down to their competition, any Raptor fans who actually attend this event will no doubt be treated to a game no one will want to talk about or remember, even if they win.
Score: Raptors 104 – Knicks 92
