There is a certain set of players I have taken to calling The Kenneth Faried All-Stars. Normally, spots on this roster are reserved for players who are constantly attached to the Toronto Raptors in rumors, even if there’s little fire behind the smoke. Faried is the obvious captain, who stands hand-in-hand with Nerlens Noel. P.J. Tucker was once a member of that roster, too, and since the year-long Tucker rumors ultimately materialized in a fun addition for the Raptors, we’re going to tweak the definition of the team a bit.
Now, instead of players always attached to the Raptors in trade rumors, the KFAS will be comprised of the potential acquisitions I get asked about the most. Faried and Noel still headline the team, with Brady Heslip out of position at point guard and the newest Milwaukee Bucks shifting to the three.
Yes, Saturday marks the likely Milwaukee debut of Terrence Jones, a long sought-after target of commenters on this site. And with good reason – Jones is immensely talented and, when given the opportunity over the years, has really filled the stat sheet. In 229 career games, the 25-year-old has averaged 15.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per-36 minutes, briefly flashed an emerging 3-point stroke, and looks the part of a modern NBA power forward, with the ability to even play some five at 252 pounds. But the Rockets reportedly found a bare market for him at the deadline last year, Jones had almost no suitors in free agency and wound up signing a minimum contract, the Pelicans opted to waive him instead of less talented players when they made their DeMarcus Cousins push, and then Jones went unclaimed on waivers. There appears to be something here causing teams pause, because his production certainly outweighs his cost when he gets to suit up.
How big a role he figures to play for the Bucks is yet to be seen, but he fills in at a position of major need. In six career games against the Raptors, he’s averaged just five points and 4.5 rebounds on a woeful 37.7 true-shooting percentage. This likely means nothing, but at least for tonight, it doesn’t appear this Kenneth Faried All-Star is prime to double-down as a Gerald Henderson All-Star.
"It's going to be tough to get [Terrence Jones] out there tonight. But we'll take him to Philly & see if we can get him some minutes there." pic.twitter.com/aXjfMeKf0N
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 4, 2017
The game tips off at 8 on Sportsnet One and TSN 1050. You can check out the full game preview here.
Raptors updates
Outside of Kyle Lowry, the Raptors enter this one healthy, but not without question marks. Where does Jonas Valanciunas fit right now? Who, if anyone, is the backup center? Just how long can the Raptors afford to stay small each night? Is DeMar DeRozan literally Kobe Bryant? We won’t get answers to these questions until the game gets going, but at least we have a pretty good idea of the starting lineup. Dwane Casey said Thursday he preferred to tweak his rotations rather than his starting five to get things going again, and he did that successfully Saturday. The starting five, though, remains a group to watch – in 75 minutes over five games, they’ve been outscored by 8.9 points per-100 possessions, the worst mark among the Raptors’ seven most commonly used groups.
PG: Cory Joseph, Delon Wright, Fred VanVleet
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell
SF: DeMarre Carrol, P.J. Tucker
PF: Serge Ibaka, Patrick Patterson, Pascal Siakam
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Jakob Poeltl, Lucas Nogueira
TBD: None
ASSIGNED: Bruno Caboclo
OUT: Kyle Lowry
Bucks updates
Khris Middleton told reporters after Friday’s win that he’s good to go for Saturday’s back-to-back, an encouraging development for the Bucks but an unfortunate one for the Raptors. With Jabari Parker and Michael Beasley sidelined, the Bucks need all hands on deck, and they figure to throw a ton of length at DeRozan and the other Raptors’ ball-handlers, as covered in the preview.
Outside of Middleton’s status and the question of Jones’ role, there’s also the constant, looming spectre of Jason Kidd making starting lineup changes. Check back before tip-off for a confirmation of the starters. Kidd, by the way, said it could be tough to get Jones into the rotation right away with no practice time under his belt.
UPDATE: The Bucks are going with the starters listed below.
Sadly, the Bucks cut Axel Toupane to make room for Jones. That could be a plus for Raptors 905 as they push toward a championship run, but it’s an unfortunate break for a talented prospect firmly on the cusp of the NBA.
PG: Malcolm Brogdon, Matthew Dellavedova
SG: Tony Snell, Jason Terry, Rashad Vaughn
SF: Khris Middleton, Steve Novak
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo, (Terrence Jones), Mirza Teletovic
C: Thon Maker, Greg Monroe, John Henson
TBD: Terrence Jones
ASSIGNED: None
OUT: Jabari Parker, Michael Beasley
Assorted
- Bruno Caboclo remains with Raptors 905, who will play in the second night of their own back-to-back at 9:30 against the L.A. D-Fenders. Caboclo was quiet on Friday as the 905 cruised to their eighth consecutive win, keeping them atop the D-League table at 30-9.
- Dorell Wright live-tweeting every Raptor game, specifically Delon Wright’s performances, is my favorite. Usually he’s got baby bro’s back, but last night he was on Delon’s case for failing to take an open layup at the rim. I wish my brothers made me better at anything other than backyard wrestling.
The line
The Raptors are 1-point favorites, down from Raptors -2.5 to open and Raptors -2 as of early this morning. That shifting line suggests it was soft to begin with, as there’s really been no news on either side in the last few hours, and the lien didn’t come out until both teams had completed their Friday games. The over-under has dropped from 205 to 203.5. If you’re betting on the Raptors to take care of business on the road for a second night in a row, not giving any points sure is a nice sweetener.
