The Toronto Raptors kick off a seven-game home-stand on Wednesday when the Utah Jazz visit the Air Canada Centre for a 7:30 tip-off on TSN.
While it would be unwise to look past any one opponent – and Utah is a tough one – the next 13 days represent a nice opportunity for the Raptors to chip into Cleveland’s lead atop the East. The Raptors play seven in a row at home without a back-to-back, while the Cavaliers play eight games in that same span, five of them on the road, and three of them in a back-to-back situation. If the Raptors can go, say, 5-2, they may be within striking distance.
One game at a time, though. Utah comes first, and you can check out the full game preview here.
Raptors updates – Thompson debuts
Jason Thompson will be available for the Raptors for the first time, and it would stand to reason that head coach Dwane Casey will look to get him some playing time to find a comfort level. At the same time, he’s yet to practice with the team, so who knows? As a reminder, Thompson isn’t being brought in to take anyone’s job, just to provide additional depth.
DeMarre Carroll remains sidelined but Bruno Caboclo and Norman Powell have been recalled from the D-League for depth, likely just for the night before being re-assigned to play tomorrow. The 905 are super thin with two call-ups and two injuries, so they needed the bodies for practice. The Raptors’ rotation will look something like this:
PG: Lowry, Joseph, Wright
SG: DeRozan, Ross, Powell
SF: Johnson, Caboclo
PF: Scola, Patterson, Thompson
C: Valanciunas, Biyombo, Nogueira
Jazz updates
Already down Dante Exum (knee) and Tibor Pleiss (D-League), it doesn’t sound as if Alex Burks (ankle) will return against the Raptors. Trevor Booker (personal), however, is expected to suit up. If that’s the case, their rotation will look something like this:
PG: Mack, Neto, Burke
SG: Hood, Ingles
SF: Hayward, Johnson
PF: Favors, Lyles, Booker
C: Gobert, Withey
Memories
The line
The Raptors have held steady as 5.5-point favorites despite heavy action on the home side, while the over-under has nudged down to 193. I’ll stick with my prediction from the preview – Raptors 100, Jazz 92.
