The Toronto Raptors will go for their 11th victory in a row at 6:30 on Sportsnet One when they host the Detroit Pistons. It’s the final game on a seven-game home-stand and another solid test in a winning streak that’s lacked them to a degree. It’s also going to be a bloodbath, to hear head coach Dwane Casey tell it.
"Tonight's game is going to be a bloodbath." – Dwane Casey
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) January 30, 2016
I suppose he’s expecting the game to be the type of grind-it-out slugfest he likes. If that’s the case, he better hope his defenders are up for an endless array of difficult one-five pick-and-rolls. It will be interesting to see if a potentially tired Pistons outfit is up for a challenge protecting their paint against the drive-happy Raptors.
The bloodbath won’t begin with many soldiers already on the sidelines, as both teams enter relatively healthy. (Update: Nevermind(
Pistons Updates
Jodie Meeks remains shelved with a foot injury and Spencer Dinwiddie is on assignment in the D-League. UPDATE: Ersan Ilyasova is a late scratch with a left thigh injury, per David Mayo of M-Live. Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were both listed as questionable but are playing.
That leaves the rotation looking something like this:
PG: Reggie Jackson, Brandon Jennings, Steve Blake
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Darrun Hilliard
SF: Marcus Morris, Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock
PF: Anthony Tolliver
C: Andre Drummond, Aron Baynes, Joel Anthony
While most may be concerned with Drummond’s rebounding and beastly finishing, what the Raptors should really be concerned with is the possibility of the Pistons sliding Morris to the four and putting Johnson in on the wing. That’s not a group they’ve used much, but it’s been highly effective, outscoring opponents by 23.3 points per-100 possessions in 62 minutes. To me, that’s their best bet to balance defense, floor-spacing, and play-making, but I’m not Stan Van Gundy.
Raptors Updates
DeMarre Carroll is still out for the Raptors while Anthony Bennett and Bruno Caboclo are with Raptors 905. That leaves the rotation as follows:
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Delon Wright
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Norman Powell
SF: James Johnson
PF: Luis Scola, Patrick Patterson
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Bismack Biyombo, Lucas Nogueira
There’s no indication that Casey will be altering the rotation that’s won 10 straight games anytime soon, but it’s worth noting that the starting group continues to struggle. That five-some has now been outscored by one point per-100 possessions over 190 minutes, with the team slipping a little on both ends of the floor relative to their overall performance. That’s probably an issue that’s fine for now to maintain consistency, with the hope that Carroll’s eventual return will help.
Valanciunas vs. Drummond
Will and I spoke about the Pistons as a potential matchup on Friday’s podcast. We mostly agreed that it doesn’t seem too daunting a matchup, and the focus naturally falls on the battle between the two pivots.
Valanciunas owns the scoring edge in their historical matchup, while Drummond’s rebounded more.
Last season, Valancunas scored 90 points with 38 rebounds and nine blocks to 52, 51, and six for Drummond. This should be a lot of fun with both playing some of the best ball of their careers.
As for hacking Drummond, well, it’s something Casey is game to do if it presents itself as a potential advantage.
With Drummond in the house, Dwane Casey says he's all for the Hack-A strategy, doesn't want to see the rule changed pic.twitter.com/FmzhZ8u9Ku
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) January 30, 2016
The Line
The Raptors opened as 7.5-point favorites and that’s edged down to Raptors -7. The Raptors should definitely be favored, particularly since Detroit played Cleveland at home on Friday (that’s a short trip, but still), tasking all of their non-Ilyasova starters with 30 minutes or more. But the Pistons are good and shouldn’t be slept on – they’re roughly average on both ends of the floor – while the Raptors continue to struggle putting teams away early. This has the makings of a Knicks-like game where the Raptors let the opponent hang around a bit too long and the final score is closer than the game flow would indicate.
Raptors 103, Pistons 97
