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Pre-game news & notes: Carroll returns, Drake speaks

The Warriors called off shootaround, so maybe Drake did his job?

It’s Drake Night! And nobody seems to care.

That’s not meant to be biting or facetious or unkind. It’s actually a testament to how far the Toronto Raptors have come that Drake Night, one of their biggest draws in each of the last three years, seems to be an afterthought as the team sets to host the Golden State Warriors for a nationall televised game. That the Raptors are receiving that kind of exposure against the league’s elite seems a much bigger deal than the presence of their global ambassador, who has been good for business and branding (and fun) but who isn’t at the forefront of popular culture right now like he was in each of the last three years.

Instead, the excitement around the Air Canada Centre is about the basketball set to be played, and the Raptors’ opportunity to upset the Warriors a night after nearly doing the same to the Cavaliers. Nothing was the same, indeed.

From a basketball perspective, it’s an interesting clash of styles and ideals.

We’ve got your full preview here, and I previewed this back-to-back from hell yesterday morning.

The game tips off at 8 p.m. on TSN and Sportsnet 590, AND on ESPN in the U.S.

Raptors updates
When the team announced that DeMarre Carroll would sit Tuesday, the belief was that it meant he would play Wednesday. The team has a long-term plan to maintain Carroll’s health and maximize his production, and sitting one leg of back-to-backs is a logical part of it.

Well, as expected, Carroll’s suiting up for this one, with head coach Dwane Casey tipping his hand well before the game. That’s a positive sign for any who were starting to worry about Carroll, and it’s a major positive for the Raptors as they try to slow down the Warriors.

Expect him to see some time at the four, as the Raptors are able to at least try to match smaller with the Warriors. Carroll, Patrick Patterson, and Pascal Siakam figure to split time on Kevin Durant – maybe Norman Powell gets a look, too, considering he’s guarded just about everyone else lately (he might see time on Steph Curry, too, because why not guard three MVPs over two nights) – but it’s going to have to be a team-wide approach, with a lot of switching on the perimeter and a massive importance put on the play of the centers. Jonas Valanciunas might be unplayable when Draymond Green is the center, if he can’t punish the Warriors for being small, and Lucas Nogueira’s length and passing ability will need to be far more present than they were Tuesday.

This matchup is a headache, man.

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
Guys, guys, guys. Patrick McCaw! McCaw was one of my favorite draft prospects and a guy I was hopeful would slide to the Raptors at No. 27, and while I’m a fan of Pascal Siakam (who isn’t?), McCaw has looked really good in limited time with the Warriors so far. But there are probably some other players the Raptors will be focused on and worried about in this one.

Putting up a Warriors depth chart is a fool’s errand, as so many of their players fill multiple positions and a lot of their lineups throw out the idea of traditional positions anyway. The starting group, one of their lone “traditional” looks that’s seen extended playing time, has played to a draw over 114 minutes. That’s your opportunity to make hay if you’re the Raptors, but their own starting lineup has been outiscored by 10.6 points per-100 possessions, so it’s still probably Edge: Warriors to start the first and third.

From there, the Warriors get deadly, with the Superdeath Lineup rolling to a plus-25.2 PPC mark in 50 minutes so far and their top Curry-less lineup (Livingston-Thompson-Iguodala-Durant-West) even going plus-22.9 PPC in 40 minutes. Small samples, yes – those are the only three lineups the Warriors have used for more than 11 minutes – but each of those groups seems as deadly on paper as the numbers suggest. Head coach Steve Kerr has just an embarrassment of options if his usual groups aren’t working

PG: Steph Curry, Shaun Livingston
SG: Klay Thompson, Ian Clark, Patrick McCaw
SF: Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala
PF: Draymond Green, David West, James Michael McAdoo
C: Zaza Pachulia, Kevon Looney, JaVale McGee, Anderson Varejao
OUT: Damian Jones

Assorted

  • As expected, Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet were called up for the game (they were assigned for Raptors 905 practice earlier in the day). At least Caboclo is going to be re-assigned when the Raptors hit the road, and it seems at least somewhat likely that VanVleet will join him. The Raptors will be on the road Nov. 17-25, a stretch that includes three 905 games, good opportunities for both youngsters to get playing time
    • By the way, if you’re interested in attending the 905 opener on Friday, you can use this link and promo code REPUBLIC905 to get a few bucks off.
  • This is only tangentially Raptors related, but over at Vice, I wrote about how Vince Carter is treating Father Time like Frederic Weis this year.
    • I have a Facebook page where I’ll post all of my articles/radio spots/podcasts, some of which don’t end up re-posted here at Raptors Republic.
  • The Warriors cancelled their shootaround Wednesday morning. Is that a sign Drake did his job Tuesday night?
  • Oh yeah, it’s Drake Night! It doesn’t feel like this means as much as in years past, which is probably a testament to the Raptors growing beyond the gimmick phase, but here’s a look at the free swag. Check back for more Drake stuff closer to tip-off (he’s addressing media at 7:15).

The line
The Raptors are 6-point underdogs at home, which is probably fair on the second night of a back-to-back against the perceived title favorites. I’d take the Raptors to cover, because I doubt they lay an egg even in this scenario, not at home and on national TV (the line has bounced between 4.5 and 6.5). The over-under is at 221.5, so like last night, there’s a lot of money on a shootout.

OK, one more:

Drake Night IV

A photo posted by Blake Murphy (@eblakemurphy) on

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TORONTO, CANADA - NOVEMBER 16: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors and Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors look on during the game on November 16, 2016 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)

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