The Toronto Raptors are back on the road after a couple of days at home in the middle of a strange, double-abbreviated, six-game, 19-day road trip. On Monday, they’ll be in the Motor City to take on the Detroit Pistons at 7:30 on Sportsnet One.
Of course, everyone will turn over to Monday Night Raw at 8 to watch Daniel Bryan’s retirement announcement, but you’ll probably only miss the first half of the second quarter, when the Raptors will surely go on a run because that’s what they do. Early second, early fourth, like clockwork. They used that formula against these Pistons on Jan. 30 in a 111-107 victory, turning a nine-point lead at the start of the fourth into a 20-point lead with six minutes to go…and then they let the Pistons nearly all the way back into it.
The Pistons have won two of four against weak competition since and will begin a brief two-game home-stand in this one. They enter a little shorthanded, as do the Raptors.
Pistons updates
Stud perimeter defender Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will be out through the All-Star break with a groin injury, joining Jodie Meeks (foot) on the sideline. Spencer Dinwiddie was sent to Grand Rapids yesterday, so they’ll be without him as an option at the one, as well. As a result, their rotation will look something like this:
PG: Reggie Jackson, Brandon Jennings, Why is Steve Blake Still on a Roster
SG: Stanley Johnson, A Masked Reggie Bullock (he broke his nose Sunday)
SF: Marcus Morris, Darrun Hilliard
PF: Ersan Ilyaosva, Anthony Tolliver
C: Andre Drummond (confirmed by David Mayo), Aron Baynes, Joel Anthony
I’ve been a proponent of Stan Van Gundy playing Johnson and Morris together more, but that suggestion was as a three-four rather than a wing pairing. Short on options at the two, this starting lineup makes sense to maintain the team’s defensive integrity, and Johnson’s offense has taken strides, too. That starting group has only played 83 minutes together and has been outscored by 3.7 points per-100 possessions, but I think there’s real offensive potential there.
Raptors updates
The Raptors are still without DeMarre Carroll and James Johnson (as far as we know). Norman Powell’s been starting in their stead, but there’s an argument to be made that tonight would be a good one to start T.J. Ross. Doing so would leave the Pistons with nowhere to hide Jackson and, to a lesser degree, Morris (he’s fine), rather than having Powell out as an option to hide. The Raptors have primarily stuck him in the corner and given little effort to get him involved, which makes sense given the short-term nature of his starting status but still makes things pretty easy on an opposing defense.
In any case, we assume Powell starts until we hear otherwise(update: it’s confirmed), so the rotation will look like this:
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Delon Wright
SG: Powell, Ross
SF: DeMar DeRozan, Bruno Caboclo (recalled)
PF: Luis Scola, Patrick Patterson, A Joke About Anthony Bennett
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Bismack Biyombo, Lucas Nogueira
Don’t get your hopes up about Caboclo. He might be second on the depth chart there, but the Raptors are likely to go with funkier lineups than turn to him for meaningful minutes – there’s a reason he wasn’t called off the road when Johnson first went down.
The Line
The Raptors are only one-point favorites, back down after the line swung from Raptors -1 to Raptors -2 overnight. The over-under has been similarly volatile, moving from 205.5 to 209.5 and back to 206.5 What a weird day. The line’s probably fair given the final score last time out, but considering the Pistons are now out KCP, the score wasn’t reflective of the overall game in that one, and this is a nearby road game for the Raptors after a few days off, I like their chances. I also like the under, but barely.
Raptors 104, Pistons 100
You can check out Gavin’s full game preview here.
There’s not much else going on, other than this Cory Joseph photo from a Holt Renfrew ad.
