So, remember a week ago when the Toronto Raptors played a brutally banged up New Orleans Pelicans squad? It was a vicious blowout that was entirely expected, necessary, and appropriate. Well, the Raptors, on paper, should be due for a repeat of that game on Friday.
However. (Extreme Ms. MacKay in D2: The Mighty Ducks voice.) HOWEVER.
The Raptors will visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, and while the Grizzlies are nearly as banged up as the Pelicans, they remain competitive. Like, really, and oddly competitive. The Grizzlies are somehow 41-34, 20th in offense, and 17th in defense. If those rankings don’t line up – below-average marks at both ends of the floor for a team seven games above .500 – well, yeah, the Grizzlies make no damn sense. They’ve employed 27 different players (27!!!), no player has started more than 56 of 75 games (no, seriously), and they’ve still managed to more or less lock up a playoff spot in the Western Conference, perhaps even the fifth seed.
I mean…what? How? Normally we save “Opponent updates” for later in the post, but I feel it’s necessary to start there, given the skeleton crew the Grizzlies are rolling with. Let’s go down the line.
Marc Gasol – out for the season
Mike Conley – out for the regular season
Jordan Adams – out indefinitely
P.J. Hairston – doubtful
Brandan Wright – doubtful
That might not seem like a lot, to list them out, but again, 27 different players this year. 27!! How is this a playoff team? And Gasol and Conley are done.Toughness can go a long way, to be sure, and they’re only 9-12 since running into the Raptors (a 98-85 Raptors victory on Feb. 21), but even staying afloat right now is remarkable. It’s a credit to Dave Joerger, a credit to how well the team played before the injuries, and a credit to the guys left on the roster.
Those guys, by the way, are as follows:
PG: Very much my dude Jordan Farmar, Ray McCullum, D-League defensive stud Briante Weber
SG: Tony Allen, Vince Carter, Xavier Munford
SF: Matt Barnes, Lance Stephenson
PF: Zach Randolph, JaMychal Green, Jarell Martin
C: Chris Andersen, Ryan Hollins
That’s…something. It’s perhaps fitting that Wrestlemania is this weekend, because the Grizzlies sound more like a WWE stable than an NBA team. Weber, Allen, Barnes, Stephenson, Randolph, Green, and Andersen? I wouldn’t want to have to pick a Survivor Series squad to stand opposite that group.
In terms of basketball, the Raptors should fare better than in a pro-graps showdown. Point guard is a huge advantage, even with Kyle Lowry shooting terribly in 40 minutes of action (ugh) Wednesday after having his elbow drained Monday. Randolph is a post-up problem but one Luis Scola (who sat to rest a sore knee Wednesday) should be game to handle, while Jonas Valanciunas can go to work against any of the Grizzlies’ options in the post. The Grizzlies offer tough wings, but not particularly talented ones – apologies to Carter, who is shooting about as well as I would this season – and beyond providing resistance to DeMar DeRozan, they won’t make life for the Raptors particularly difficult.
On the first night of a back-to-back, maybe the Raptors will opt to rest players as a result. Betting on that, the way things have gone the past few weeks, seems silly, and the Raptors should be considered a full squad less DeMarre Carroll until they announce otherwise before each game. Even with the Grizzlies losing eight of their last 10, it would make more sense, on the surface, to rest players against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, instead, considering they’re 38-0 at home, anyway.
If everyone but Carroll plays, the rotation will look something like this:
PG: Lowry, Cory Joseph, Delon Wright
SG: Norman “Rich Man’s Tony Allen” Powell, T.J. Ross
SF: DeRozan, James Johnson
PF: Scola, Patrick Patterson, Jason Thompson
C: Valanciunas, Bismack Biyombo, Lucas Nogueira
I’m excited to see how Powell looks opposite Allen and Barnes, names who appear to be spiritual counterparts. Powell’s been on another level of late, which has been awesome to see. He doesn’t really have anyone to guard in this matchup, but I’d imagine he’s now the starter until Carroll returns, if Carroll returns at all. For a second-round pick, that’s incredible, and it’s been one of my favorite parts of the season.
The game tips off at 8 p.m. on Sportsnet One. Apologies for the brief preview, but I was expecting to have someone answer questions in the usual format but it didn’t work out, and I’m on the road today. The Raptors are 5.5-point favorites on the road against the No. 5 seed in the West, which is a pretty nice nod of respect.
Assuming everyone but Carroll plays, Raptors 102, Grizzlies 92.
