The injury riddled Lakers come into Toronto having won 2 out of 3 games, despite missing D’angelo Russell. Luke Walton has done a terrific job turning this Lakers team into a competitive, respectable team every night they take the court, and they are a team that cannot be taken lightly. They are slightly banged up, but a win against Chicago and Atlanta, after giving up 149 points to Golden State was certainly a nice sign that this team can bring it and compete with anyone when they’re on their game. However, this is certainly a game that the Raptors should win. With the gameplan no longer revolving around force feeding the clearly finished Kobe Bryant, the Lakers now have a very balanced attack and some underused players from years past are starting to surface themselves as very solid NBA players. This should be a tougher game, but one the Raptors should win regardless. Lou Williams and Jose Calderon will each see some run in this game with the injuries to Nick Young and D’angelo Russell, and they should each be well received by the Toronto fans.
Here are five things to look for on the Lakers:
1. Lots of Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson is an intriguing young player, and he was drafted in the 2nd round of the NBA draft 3 years ago. He is looking like a massive steal, and with injuries to Nick Young and Russell, he has seen a massive spike in usage rate and production. Since Russell went down, in 6 games, Clarkson has taken 15 shots per game and put up 16.5 points per game, 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Clarkson does a little of everything, but his usage rate in these games is a sign that we will continue to see a lot of Clarkson. He is athletic, good at creating shots off the dribble, and an overall exciting player to watch.
2. Lots of Lou Williams. The other beneficiary to the injuries has been Lou Williams. Williams has ironically also averaged 16-3-3 since the injury, and he has done so on less shots per game, as his uncanny ability to get to the free throw line has not left his resume since leaving Toronto. Williams might be having the best year of his career, as he is averaging just under 17 points per game in just 24 minutes per game. We don’t often see huge minute totals, but he certainly makes the most of them when on the floor, and you can bet that Lou will look to have a big night against his former team. Expect Williams to feed off the nice ovation he should receive, as he was a pretty solid Raptor, despite the team faltering big time in the 2nd half and the playoffs during his tenure in Toronto.
3. Depending on whether or not you appreciate good basketball from an opponents or the Raptors winning, you will alter your opinion on whether or not you are excited to see 2nd overall pick, Brandon Ingram. This is not to call him a bust, because he is literally a kid, but Ingram has been woeful so far this season. He has a lot of work to do, and he is very skinny, inefficient, and unproductive with the Lakers so far. Ingram saw 41 minutes of floor time last game. Part of that is injuries, but another part is Luke Walton putting Ingram right into the fire and helping him to gain experience and to learn. Ingram has really struggled in these games since his teammates went down, as he has put up well under a point per shot in his last 5 games (9 points on 12 shots per game), including a woeful 3 for 18 performance. I’ll cut him some slack and he has shown flashes, but his shooting touch has not carried over into the NBA just yet. Regardless, he could break out at any time, and maybe tomorrow will be the night. Eventually, his 35% shooting percentage will rise, and I think a breakout game will happen soon.
4. Timofey Mozgov has been a predictably terrible signing. The Lakers net rating with Mozgov on the court has been +6, but that is causal in my opinion. Mozgov has only been trusted to play 20 minutes per night, and he has not provided much rim protection and he has consistently struggled to finish at the rim. Mozgov was overpaid, and even with everyone out, Mozgov managed just 2 points and 2 rebounds last night in the win in Chicago. This could be a very good matchup for Jonas.
5. Larry Nance Jr. is really fun. Dare I say it, but Nance’s athleticism reminds me a lot of a young Blake Griffin. He hustles, he does little things right. The Lakers have a 110 offensive rating with Nance on the court, and he provides a lot of steals (1.3 in just 22 minutes per game) and hustle stats. Nance is a really valuable player to this team and we should expect a significant role from Nance off the bench tonight. This is a guy that Patrick Patterson will matchup with a lot, and he will have to make sure he is boxing him out at all times. If you don’t believe my hype about Nance, youtube a video of his highlights and his dunk compilation. He has taken a massive step forward this year and is a guy who is really worth watching. He backs up Julius Randle, who goes without saying as one of the must see players for LA tonight.
Lakers Updates
INJURIES:
Nick Young
D’angelo Russell
DEPTH CHART:
PG: Jose Calderon (!!), Jordan Clarkson, Marcelo Huertas
SG: Jordan Clarkson, Lou Williams
SF: Luol Deng, Brandon Ingram, Metta World Peace (He might start!)
PF: Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr.
C: Timofey Mozgov, Tariq Black, Thomas Robinson
Clarkson will likely be asked to play both PG and SG as the fan favourite, Jose Calderon has just been a placeholder starter, and has had an insignificant role starting. Ingram and Deng will see some time at the 4 as well, while Nance will see many minutes at the 3. It’s a short rotation for the Lakers and we’ll see how they respond to the Raptors depth
Raptors Updates
INJURIES:
Demarre Carroll (Q) – Coach Casey suggested that he won’t be playing in back to backs and I’d assume the Raptors get Norm Powell some run in a game where they need Carroll less.
Jared Sullinger – Nothing new here
DEPTH CHART:
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph
SG: Demar Derozan, Norman Powell
SF: DeMarre Carroll (Q), Terrence Ross
PF: Pascal Siakam, Patrick Patterson, Bruno Caboclo
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Lucas Nogueira, Jakob Poetl
With Carroll possibly resting, look to see a lot of Norman Powell and Terrence Ross in this one.
Vegas Thoughts
The Raptors opened at -10.5, and I can’t help but believe that they will likely cover this. The Lakers play at such a fast tempo, that 10.5 isn’t much to cover. This game has a 217 over under, and the Raptors should cover this. I’m predicting the final to be 112-98 Raptors. This is a must win game and one that the Raptors cannot let slip away, so let’s hope they take care of business and prepare for a much tougher Saturday contest by being able to sit down Lowry and Derozan for a while in the 4th quarter.
