Still riding high from The Kyle Lowry Game, an event that knocked LeBron James out of his own Sunday game, the Toronto Raptors find themselves in Detroit to take on the Pistons at 6 p.m. on Sportsnet One.
But they don’t have Lowry, who is sitting out to get some additional rest.
The team announced the decision at 4:45, smartly determining their star could use a bit of a breather. Not that his play has been suffering by any means, but Lowry has played in every game this season and is averaging a career-high 37 minutes – only two players in the NBA have played more minutes this season. It’s a huge hit for the team in terms of their chances Sunday, but with two days off in a row after this game, the decision gets Lowry four days of rest. It’s just smart to take the long-view and get him a mini-siesta mid-season.
In 57 games, Lowry is averaging 21.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 2.2 steals. He’s been unbelievable in February, and sitting out may wind up costing him a shot at Player of the Month in the East, though he’ll be close anyway.
Kyle Lowry has one more shot at making Player of the Month case for February tonight. pic.twitter.com/BF4RSju5qp
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) February 28, 2016
This means a start for Cory Joseph and probably the most playing time of Delon Wright’s career, which will be interesting.
DeRozan sick but expected to play
The Raptors could be without their second All-Star, too, as DeMar DeRozan has been battling an illness for several days. He was limited on Friday against the Cavaliers, turning in one of his worst offensive performances of the season and requiring a reprieve in the third quarter. He sat out Saturday’s practice and the team declined to hold a shootaround Sunday, and while he wasn’t listed on the injury report, it’s possible he could be a late scratch, too.
Joseph has also been under the weather but is good to go Sunday. With DeMarre Carroll still out and Bruno Caboclo with the 905, the Raptors rotation is left looking something like this:
PG: Joseph, Wright
SG: DeRozan, Ross, Powell
SF: Johnson
PF: Scola, Patterson, Bennett
C: Valanciunas, Biyombo, Nogueira
Jonas Valanciunas was able to stay healthy – and keep beat reporters healthy – by protecting himself from DeRozan on Friday.
Just a lot to unpack here. pic.twitter.com/f3CZgOL3FZ
— Daniel Reynolds (@aka_Reynolds) February 27, 2016
Pistons updates
The Pistons are a little undermanned, missing Jodie Meeks (foot), Anthony Tolliver (knee), Spencer Dinwiddie (ankle), and probably Stanley Johnson (doubtful with a shoulder injury). They’re thin enough that they’ve signed Justin Harper to a 10-day contract for additional forward depth.
Their rotation will look something like this:
PG: Jackson, Blake
SG: Caldwell-Pope, Hilliard
SF: Morris, Bullock
PF: Harris, Harper
C: Drummond, Baynes, Anthony
New look Pistons
This will be Toronto’s first look at the “new” Pistons, who boast Tobias Harris as yet another stretchy-ish combo-forward. Harris was a smart gamble for the Pistons facing a summer of potentially unusable cap space, but for the short-term, I’m not sure he makes them a more difficult matchup for Toronto – the loss of Brandon Jennings leaves Detroit exploitable at the one, and Ersan Ilyasova, who Harris replaces, was a nightmare for the Raptors (Harris isn’t nearly as good a shooter).
Some readers have expressed a fear of a Pistons playoff matchup, but they don’t worry me a ton. Yes, KCP, Johnson, and Morris represent a lot of options to throw at DeRozan, and KCP can switch on to Lowry, and the combo-forwards are tough for Scola, but Valanciunas thrives in the Drummond matchup, Detroit doesn’t have as much shooting around the Jackson-Drummond pick-and-roll as they’d like, and we’re yet to really see how the new pieces fit (though Detroit does enter on a three-game winning streak).
I guess we’ll get a little more information today, although the absence of Lowry confuses matters from a scouting perspective.
At home on the road
It’s a road game, sure, but Raptors fans travel incredibly well, especially when it’s just a quick jaunt away. Detroit qualifies, and general manager Masai Ujiri will lead a contingent of The North across the border for the game.
Stuck waiting and the last passenger just walked in! @Raptors #the6ix #torontoraptors #raptorsnation pic.twitter.com/goX5TvDtf6
— Laize Ann Bacay (@laizey_bones) February 28, 2016
The line
The Raptors opened as 2.5-point favorites but have lost a point over the day, now standing at Raptors -1.5 with an over-under that’s been all over the place and is settled at 202. That feels about right, though you could reasonably expect the Raptors to lose without their star.
