The Raptors are getting healthy at the right time.
It appears Amir Johnson is rounding into form, as he’s listed as questionable for Tuesday’s clash with the Boston Celtics.
Amir is questionable tonight. Casey would like to get him in tonight and/or tmrw but priority is getting him close to 100% for playoffs
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 14, 2015
With the Raptors having locked down home-court advantage through the first round, Johnson and the Raptors are making the smart decision to play it safe. Johnson told Josh Lewenberg on Monday that he would be playing if it were the playoffs.
Johnson has sat out the Raptors’ past three games after badly twisting his ankle against the Nets. The Raptors have gone 3-1 without him in the lineup, thanks in part to weak opponents and the unexpected emergence of Tyler Hansbrough, who has averaged 12 points and 9.3 rebounds on 57.3 percent while filling in for Johnson.
There is a cost to resting Johnson. The Bulls currently have a half-game up on the Raptors in the race for third and a date with the Bucks. The four seed will face the Wizards in round one. The Raptors hold the tiebreaker in the event of a tie (thanks again, Atlantic!). My personal preference will be for the Raptors to face the Wizards, but there’s a case to be made for both opponents.
There’s also the chase for 50, which is something, I guess. Round numbers are nice, but it’s ultimately meaningless. I doubt Raptors fans will be bragging about this team as a 50-win club in terms of their quality.
The Celtics locked up a playoff spot thanks to the Nets’ loss on Monday, but the Celtics can clinch the seventh seed with a win Tuesday. The Celtics have given the Raptors plenty of trouble this season, including a last-second win last week.
As for Wednesday’s game, the Hornets have been eliminated from playoff contention and are banged up (Al Jefferson, Lance Stephenson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller are out) so the Raptors should be able to snag an easy win on Wednesday. The game will also be shown on ESPN for reasons unknown, so it’s best the to put on a brave face before the NBATV cameras come North for the postseason.
The best bet for their postseason hopes would be for Johnson to be as healthy as possible. It’s been shown, time and time again, that a healthy Amir Johnson makes and breaks what has historically been a weak defense in Toronto. Get him right; matchups be damned.
