Happy Royal Rumble Sunday! I don’t have much more to say than that – I wrote the game preview just a few hours ago, am enjoying some time with friends rather than going down to the ACC, and there was no shootaround with the early start time. So let’s just get on with it, yeah?
The game tips off at 6 p m. on TSN 4/5 and TSN 1050. You can check out the full game preview here.
Raptors updates
The status of DeMar DeRozan is still unknown and probably will be until closer to tip-off. It doesn’t feel likely he’ll play here, given the matchup and how quick they were to announce his Friday absence, but maybe he wants to get some minutes in before the tough upcoming back-to-back. If he can’t go, Norman Powell will continue thrilling (and gunning), and the guard rotation will shake out similar to how it has the last three games. Check back closer to tip-off for a firm DeRozan update.
Casey asked during pre game scrum: "is (DeRozan) available?"
– Casey: "we'll see"#raptors #rtz
— Eric Smith (@Eric__Smith) January 29, 2017
UPDATE: DeRozan is playing! That’s great news. I can’t imagine he’ll play 40 minutes or anything, but it’s nice that he can get his footing back under him ahead of Wednesday’s Boston matchup.
We broke down the other rotation nuances and potential matchups in the pre-game, so head there for thoughts on Patrick Patterson likely remaining the starter and Jared Sullinger possibly getting some renewed run fresh off a D-League stint.
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Fred VanVleet
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell, Delon Wright
SF: DeMarre Carroll,Terrence Ross, Bruno Caboclo
PF: Patrick Patterson, Jared Sullinger, Pascal Siakam
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Lucas Nogueira, Jakob Poeltl
TBD: None
ASSIGNED: None
OUT: None
Magic updates
Evan Fournier said Saturday after his first full practice in weeks that he was “probably as fast as my grandma.” On the bright side for the Magic, they were hopeful coming out of the session that Fournier would be able to return Sunday. Even if he does, he won’t be operating at 100 percent, which means the Magic offense will probably still be quite shaky.
UPDATE: Fournier is out. Disappointing for the Magic, but it should allow the Raptors to continue their recent uptick on the defensive end.
Check back closer to tip off for an update on Fournier beyond “hopeful.” Everyone else is confirmed as in or out or assigned, and we broke down the matchup this morning.
PG: Elfrid Payton, D.J. Augustin
SG: C.J. Watson, Anthony Brown
SF: Aaron Gordon, Jeff Green, Mario Hezonja
PF: Serge Ibaka, Damjan Rudez
C: Nikola Vucevic, Bismack Biyombo
Assigned: Stephen Zimmerman
TBD: None
Out: Evan Fournier, Jodie Meeks, C.J. Wilcox
Assorted
- The Raptors will debut their Chinese New Year jerseys tonight, a look they’ll wear twice (today and Tuesday). The jerseys are really sharp, from what I’ve seen. And Happy New Year to those celebrating it.
- I shared some of my thoughts on Jared Sullinger getting assigned to Raptors 905 yesterday when the news broke. I watched the game this morning, and I don’t have a lot of notes on his performance. He’s still clearly rusty and I’d be OK with him not shooting above-the-break threes anymore, but he was also physically dominant and seemed to get more comfortable as the game went along. Most importantly, he played 27 minutes, and since the 905 don’t have a home game for a while and the Raptors’ schedule condenses some this week, that’s really important. It says a lot, too, that a frustrated Sullinger requested the assignment to improve his game.
- In that same game, Delon Wright continued to impress. The dude is a goddam artist with the ball in transition.
- Bruno’s cornrows are the greatest thing to ever happen to this franchise.
- Vivek had you covered with a full game recap here.
- All three 905ers were recalled for this one, by the way, even though at least one will be inactive. The 905 are off until Tuesday, so it makes sense to get the guys back up with the parent club with an opportunity for garbage time, or just the learning that comes with a day with the Raptors. I’d expect Caboclo to be assigned when the 905 hit the road for Tuesday, but I’m unsure on Wright – he could probably use a bit more conditioning, but depending on DeRozan’s status, the Raptors may prefer to keep an extra guard handy for their Tuesday-Wednesday back-to-back.
- A few people have asked: Feb. 5 is the cut-off date for coaching the All-Star Game. If the Raptors are in second after next Sunday, Dwane Casey gets the nod. They enter this game tied with Boston for that spot, so Wednesday’s game could potentially determine the coach of the East All-Stars (Ty Lue is ineligible because he coached last year).
The line
The line was off the board early this morning but the Raptors than opened as whopping 9.5-point favorites, so it’s unclear what, exactly, the market was waiting for here. That line was even before any DeRozan or Fournier news, too. The over-under, meanwhile, dropped quickly from 213.5 to 208, so maybe people think there will be real defense played here. My guess? The Raptors’ recent uptick on that end continues here, and they roll to their first blowout victory in some time. I’m not going to put a score on it, but I’d take the Raptors and the under.
