The once a year spectacle that every Eastern Conference team’s fanbase looks forward to is taking place tonight at the Air Canada Center. The best team in basketball will be visiting Toronto, and this will certainly be a really challenging task, especially coming off of a back to back. Expect a revved up crowd and a hostile environment, as the Raptors look to avoid going 0-2 in the back to back that was very not easy.
Tonight’s game will be at 8 PM and thankfully, the Raptors will go back to their non “Wait, the Raptors are blue? I kept thinking they’re the Knicks” jerseys for this affair. It is also an ESPN game, so this will be on the grand stage and a game that a lot of people have a lot of interest in. A great Toronto team led by Demar Derozan and Kyle Lowry, at home against this hated Warriors team will probably lead to a lot more Raptors fans for the night across the United States.
Five Notes About The Warriors
1. The Warriors are not only the 3rd fastest team in the NBA, but they are the most efficient, and by far the best shooting team. They are the only NBA team with an assist ratio over 19, and they sit at close to 22. This should surprise no one who has watched this team, as they are simply unstoppable and wizards with the basketball. Their pace, efficiency, and ball movement are going to cause lots of fits for the Raptors tonight, and it’s going to take a big night from the stars for them to pull off this win.
2. Warriors second round pick, Patrick McCaw has actually had a nice impact on this team. While there were no questions about the Warriors starting 5, many wondered if losing all of the depth they had last year could hurt in any way down the stretch. Speights, Barnes, Bogut, Barbosa and Ezeli are all solid players, and all 5 played a role in the playoffs last year for Golden State. Starters do matter, but those 10-12 bench vs bench minutes are still very important in the NBA. Who would have thought that a second round pick would be the 8th man on this team, behind the starters, Livingston and Iguodala. McCaw had an ankle injury, but since returning in 3 games, he has had a quiet impact to the point where Steve Kerr trusted him with key rotation minutes to go along with some garbage time. We already saw McCaw put up 5 steals against the Raptors in 23 minutes in the preseason opener, and that has been reflective of his ability to contribute in small ways. He had 3 double digit scoring games in preseason as well, so the scoring touch is also there, but obviously not needed with so many stars around him. Keep your eye out for McCaw tonight.
3. Shaqtin’ a Fool MVP, Javale McGee has actually been a really nice fit for Golden State. Earlier this week, Steve Kerr mentioned that he wants to get McGee some minutes as he has “earned it”. Despite most people only remember Jonathan Simmons posterizing Javale to sum up an embarrassing home debut, McGree has had a lot of good moments, as he has been freed up in many pick and rolls and finished at the rim with ease. McGee was called upon in multiple garbage times, but got his first real minutes when Zaza Pachulia picked up 2 early fouls against the Nuggets. McGee was really a beast inside and was catching lobs and swatting shots. He had 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks in just 12 minutes. He has always had talent, and with these teammates around him, he could be one of the most active per minute players in the NBA when he checks in, and a per 36 monster.
4. Kevin Durant’s entrance to the Warriors had some wondering what his numbers would be like this year, as well as the Warriors’ teammates. With only so many shots to go around, many believed that Klay Thompson and Draymond Green’s numbers could plummet this year. That has not been the case, and all it has done is immediately make everyone’s shooting numbers better. The only player who has seen a drop off has been Klay Thompson, but much of that has been due to an uncharacteristic 31% shooting percentage on 3 pointers. Last year, Thompson struggled out of the gate as well, averaging just 16 points per game in November, and he had his season high in points against the Raptors, which really turned his year around. Once Thompson’s 3 point shot comes back, which it is, he will be back to the 20+ PPG scorer we’re all used to. Draymond is still Draymond, putting up near triple doubles with a mirage of blocks and steals every night. Curry and Durant have been fantastic so far with PER’s near 30 and TS % in the mid 60s. Truly incredible.
5. One other player you don’t hear about every night is Kevon Looney. Looney has always been an interesting player to me. He averaged 8 rebounds in 19 minutes per game in the D league last year, and has always been a ferocious rebounder. He has barely cracked the rotation, but when he does play, he has been a rebounding machine. A fun fact is that Looney has the highest offensive rating on Golden State since the start of last season. He is an interesting player for 6″9, as he has the same rebound % as Bismack Biyombo did last season. We’ll see if we see any Looney tonight.
Raptors Updates:
DeMarre Carroll sat out last night for rest. He was expected to suit up in either of the two games, which means he should be in tonight. There is no confirmation, however. Norman Powell and Terrence Ross looked awesome last night, and you have to wonder how much Carroll will even play the way he has looked.
Lucas Nogueira had a rough night last night, but despite his 5 fouls, Jakob Poeltl didn’t see the floor. Last season, Nogueira had a massive impact in the game against the Warriors at home, and his screen setting and rim protection will be very important tonight. The 3 fouls in 30 seconds hurt him last night, and he’s going to have to be better than that tonight. It’s nice to see Bebe playing like this.
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Fred VanVleet
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell
SF: DeMarre Carroll (?) , Terrence Ross
PF: Patrick Patterson, Pascal Siakam, Bruno Caboclo
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Lucas Nogueira, Jakob Poeltl
OUT: Delon Wright, Jared Sullinger
Warriors Updates
No news tonight, so it looks like this is a game the Raptors can win and not have to asterisk because of any injury. Here is Golden State’s mediocre lineup:
PG: Steph Curry, Shaun Livingston
SG: Klay Thompson, Patrick McCaw, Ian Clark
SF: Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala
PF: Draymond Green, David West, Kevon Looney, James Michael McAdoo
C: Zaza Pachulia, Javale McGee, Anderson Varejao
The Line
Vegas sees a lot of points here and I don’t blame them. The Warriors are 5.5 point favourites which shows how good they are. The line is 221 o/u, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it went over. This should be a fun one and it’s a shame that it’s a back to back. I’m going to predict a 117-108 win for the Warriors, but it will be hard fought and exciting to the end. Must see TV!
