The Toronto Raptors continue a compressed week with their third of five games in seven days. But they’re fairly rested here, having had an entire day in Orlando – with no practice following a back-to-back – to relax and enjoy some sun and get right to rebound against the Magic. There are no excuses here, like there were none Sunday in Toronto when the Magic stole one thanks to an inexplicably poor Toronto performance. Revenge should be on their minds, and if they don’t come out with intensity, there will be easy questions to ask about what exactly was going on psychologically.
But let’s not think of the bad. The Raptors have played slightly better of late despite the record and Magic loss, and maybe DeMar DeRozan will be back here. Even without DeRozan, they should take care of the Magic. And they probably will! And then the reaction podcast will be happy and we’ll all go drink and be merry. Or, you know, they won’t, and the reaction podcast will be funny and we’ll all go drink and be miserable. Either way!
The game tips off at 7 p m. on TSN and Sportsnet 590. You can check out the full game preview here.
Raptors updates
The Raptors skipped shootaround Friday in favor of doing a walkthrough at their hotel, which is their prerogative and probably the right call, from a physical standpoint, given how dense the schedule is right now. But that left us in the dark about the status of DeMar DeRozan, who was officially listed as questionable due to his sore ankle. DeRozan will not return for this one, head coach Dwane Casey revealed before the game, courtesy of The Woz. Even with 12 losses in the last 20 games, it makes sense to play it safe with DeRozan until he’s 100 percent, and Norman Powell’s been filling in admirably. It hurts, especially late in games, but if DeRozan is still sore (or “tender” as it was put), there’s little sense pushing it.
With Patrick Patterson now somewhat solidified as the starting power forward, the only real question in the frontcourt is who gets the backup minutes there. The Raptors will go small at times, sure, but there are still a number of minutes for either Jared Sullinger or Pascal Siakam to soak up. That spot has been fluid of late, but Sullinger’s strong performance Wednesday may give him the first look here (even if the Magic are one of Siakam’s better matchups). And no, Jakob Poeltl probably isn’t an option, as he’s still only really played center this year and all rotation choices of late suggest he’s strictly the C3.
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Fred VanVleet
SG: Norman Powell, Delon Wright
SF: DeMarre Carroll, Terrence Ross
PF: Patrick Patterson, Jared Sullinger, Pascal Siakam
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Lucas Nogueira, Jakob Poeltl
TBD: None
ASSIGNED: Bruno Caboclo
OUT: DeMar DeRozan
Magic updates
Evan Fournier has returned for the Magic, which gives them their top scorer and most dynamic playmaker back. That’s great for them, and considering the Magic beat Toronto without him, probably bad news for the Raptors. Not that Fournier is a world-beater, or the Magic with him are even good offensively, but he’s a tough check and a shooter who requires constant attention. Expect Norman Powell to get the assignment chasing him around if DeRozan can’t go, while Carroll takes care of the bulkier wings like Aaron Gordon and Jeff Green.
We all miss Bismack Biyombo, but it’s worth noting that he hasn’t really worked out in Orlano. Nogueira is filling the role nicely, and while there’s a ton to Biyombo’s presence that can’t be quantified – physicality, communication, personality, that smile – he’s not the reason the Raptors’ guards suddenly can’t keep anyone in front of him. In Orlando, he’s been an awkward fit with Serge Ibaka and his role has shrunk a bit over the last few games. This is to say nothing bad about Biyombo, who is an indisparagible (a word I think I just made up) saint in my books, but just to note that the Occam’s Razor of Biyombo’s absence isn’t necessarily the Raptors’ biggest problem. It’s always fun to see him against his former guys, too.
PG: Elfrid Payton, D.J. Augustin
SG: Evan Fournier, C.J. Watson
SF: Aaron Gordon, Jeff Green, Mario Hezonja
PF: Serge Ibaka, Damjan Rudez
C: Nikola Vucevic, Bismack Biyombo
Assigned: Stephen Zimmerman
TBD: None
Out: Jodie Meeks, C.J. Wilcox
Assorted
- Jakob Poeltl got some run last game due to foul trouble. And he looked pretty good! The samples have been limited, but I wrote about the progress he’s been able to flash when given the opportunity for The Athletic today.
- ICYMI, Kyle Lowry will be participating in the 3-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend. He needs four more threes to tie Morris Peterson for the Raptors’ all-time lead.
- Bruno Caboclo remains with Raptors 905 of the D-League, as they’re on the road and set for action tomorrow. With the parent club mostly healthy, expect a lot less of Caboclo on the bench in the coming weeks, as he’d just be in street clothes, anyway.
- Speaking of the 905, head coach Jerry Stackhouse won’t be with the team tomorrow due to a personal matter. Donnie Tyndall will coach in his place.
- 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. But that’s almost certainly not happening, as the Raptors would have to win Friday and Sunday while the Celtics go 0-2 over the weekend for Casey to earn the nod.
The line
The Raptors are 5.5-point favorites on the road, a heavy line with the DeRozan uncertainty and one that jumped from an opening mark of Raptors – 3.5 in some places. The over-under is at 208.5, with previous totals in this matchup of 188 and 227.
