It’s crazy how quickly things can turn.
Not only has the Toronto Raptors’ matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday quickly turned from one of the most must-see home games of the year to something that will likely be a complete afterthought in retrospect, the Grizzlies themselves are looking down the barrel of a potentially fundamental shift. Mike Conley’s injury threatens to derail a playoff push in a very tight Western Conference, and it’s been compounded by the absence of five other plays. The Grizzlies have a minor cushion at 11-7, but things can change a great deal over the course of six weeks, too, and it will be interesting to see how they approach the rest of the season when Conley returns, if they’ve slid – there’s enough talent here when healthy, unquestionably, but it’s not always as simple as that.
But that’s a Memphis problem for two months down the line. From the Raptors’ perspective, the problem will be not letting up against the Grizzlies squad with just nine healthy bodies. And yes, there’s a potential emotional let-down now that Vince Carter isn’t playing. The Raptors showed Monday they won’t take a weakened opponent lightly, so look for them to try to put what’s still a gritty Grizzlies roster away early.
The game tips off at 7:30 on Sportsnet One and TSN 1050. You can check out the full game preview here.
Raptors updates
Best we know, it’s all able hands on deck for the Raptors, save for the two long-term injuries. DeMarre Carroll should be good to go with no back-to-back situation (I’d expect him to sit Friday but that’s not a certainty), and Jonas Valanciunas practiced Tuesday and could have returned to Monday’s game after rolling his ankle. I know some have expected him to sit as a precaution, but there’s been no word from the team yet.
It stands to be what we’ve become familiar with, then, as head coach Dwane Casey has grown comfortable with his nine-man rotation. A bigger opponent might mean some time for Jakob Poeltl if another big gets in foul trouble, and a potential blowout would mean expanded run for Norman Powell. Prior to the game, Casey continued to iterate that Poeltl and Lucas Nogueira are close on the depth chart, and suggested Poeltl could be a body they throw at Gasol depending on what the game-flow dictates.
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Fred Vanleet
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell
SF: DeMarre Carroll, Terrence Ross
PF: Pascal Siakam,Patrick Patterson, Bruno Caboclo
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Lucas Nogueira, Jakob Poeltl
ASSIGNED: None
OUT: Delon Wright, Jared Sullinger
Grizzlies updates
As noted off the top, Conley is set to miss substantial time, and as friend of the site Jared Dubin expertly explained this week, that’s a massive hit. That Vince Carter, Zach Randolph, Chandler Parsons, James Ennis, and Brandan Wright are all out, too, is just extra salt on a very fresh – and seasons’ long, it feels – wound for Memphis.
The obvious pressing question for the Grizzlies is what happens at the point. They won’t be eligible for a hardship exception until later this week, meaning the controls are in the hands of Andrew Harrison and Wade Baldwin IV. The better Harrison is a nice prospect who had an impressive season in the D-League last year but is off to a shaky start at the NBA level, while Baldwin is an intriguing long-term piece who wouldn’t be playing a ton out of the gate in an ideal world. They’ll both be given chances, and I’d imagine
Elsewhere, Marc Gasol is an obvious matchup problem and a nice test for the Raptors’ young bigs, while Tony Allen will attempt to take up residence in DeRozan’s jersey in order to make life difficult for the man attacking Carter’s franchise scoring average record.
PG: Andrew Harrison, Wade Baldwin
SG: Tony Allen, Troy Daniels
SF: Troy Williams
PF: JaMychal Green, Deyonta Davis, Jarell Martin
C: Marc Gasol
ASSIGNED: None
OUT: Mike Conley, Vince Carter, Zach Randolph, Chandler Parsons, James Ennis, Brandan Wright
Assorted
- There’s probably going to be a ton written about Vince Carter’s last visit to Toronto, and understandably so, if it is indeed that.
- Here’s DeMar DeRozan and Cory Joseph on Carter’s impact.
- Here’s Carter on his connection to Toronto.
- Here’s me a few weeks back, on Carter’s 2016-17 resurgence.
- We’ll have a separate post up after Carter speaks before the game. (Nevermind, the Grizzlies opted not to make him available, per team policy.)
- Tonight also marks the team’s 100th consecutive sellout, the first time the franchise has reached that mark. Pat yourselves on the back, Raptors fans.
- Best of luck to Toronto FC. Hopefully that’ll be up on a screen somewhere at the ACC, otherwise your boy will have a screen up from press row.
- I’d expect VanVleet, Poeltl, and Caboclo to draw the assignment to the 905 for Thursday’s game after this one. If he doesn’t play tonight, maybe Poeltl joins them.
- Here’s a good look at the Raptors flipping screens to enable DeRozan’s scoring load.
- Basically, yup.
Embiid, Vince & Nick Young all miss games in Toronto this week. Someone hug @BlakeMurphyODC.
— Sean Woodley (@WoodleySean) November 30, 2016
The line
The Raptors are mammoth 13-point favorites, up from Raptors -10 on account of all of the injuries. The over-under suggests a slower paced game, as both side probably prefer, with a mark of 195.5 holding steady all day. These games are always difficult to make heads or tails of, but I’ll trust the Raptors to get it done around big games from Gasol and Green.
Raptors 104, Grizzlies 90
