Gameday: Raptors @ Pistons, Dec. 18

Jokes were made to the media after the game, points of view were recounted in regards to Norman Powell’s sky-scraping alley-oop, and Patrick McCaw hit two threes (read Louis’ piece). All this goes to say that the Raptors found themselves in the aftermath of a feel good game after trouncing the Cavaliers, and they’ll now look to sustain that forward momentum vs. the Pistons.

The Pistons are coming off of a loss to the Wizards, in which they competed with a makeshift lineup as both of their star front-court players were out – Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin. They asked the duo of Thon Maker and Markieff Morris to run n’ gun against the gunslinging Wizards, and fell short to their top-5 offense. Not that it’s much of a surprise that Bruce Brown and Markieff Morris couldn’t hang with the offensive output of Bradley Beal and co.

Regarding the status of Drummond and Griffin, coach Dwane Casey said: “Should be full boat (vs. Toronto) but we’re not going to make that commitment until game time.” So, it appears the Raptors won’t have the same luck as the Wizards did, as they’ll likely have to try and contain Griffin and Drummond for the duration of tonight’s contest. The latter of the two gobbled up 8 offensive boards (22 total) by himself in the game earlier this season, and will be primed to contribute in a similar fashion.

Griffin is one of the more “power forward-y” power forwards in the league, and his skillset gave Pascal Siakam fits last year. Not only did Siakam have a bit of difficulty trying to shed Griffin on his way to the rim offensively, but Griffin’s strength and finesse in the post is a really difficult matchup for Siakam in single coverage. It was one of the few matchups league-wide that Siakam had a really tough time standing out in. However (comma) Siakam has equipped himself with a pull-up jumper since the last time they met. Even though his potency has dipped recently (30.9% on pull-ups over the last ten games, 27% from downtown) that’s a real consideration for defenders, and one that Siakam isn’t afraid to play off of.

As far as the Drummond matchup goes, Marc Gasol has really rounded into form recently and looks like the man for the job of boxing Drummond out. Earlier in the season I went over every offensive rebound the Raptors had given up for the Black Box Report (mine and Louis’ weekly column) and Gasol actually did a decent job of holding Drummond off of the glass – 4 of his 8 O-boards came on one wacky possession against Chris Boucher.

Derrick Rose is concerning as well, but as far as on-court contributions go, Rose fits the archetype that usually gives the Raptors fits – quick guards that aren’t afraid to work in the mid-range, and pass well while going downhill. Rose is killing it from the mid-range this year, and he’s not afraid to take a bulk of his shots from there to supplement the Pistons offense when it’s running on empty.

Even with all that said about how the Pistons have some ways to make the Raptors sweat, the Raptors should handle this game, to be sure. Even with some games where the Raptors scheme was less than stellar and losing 4 of 6, the Raptors defense is a juggernaut against most teams. The Pistons can definitely manufacture buckets, but the Raptors are rounding into form on both ends of the floor and they look like they’re in the middle of a winning streak that isn’t ready to end.

Siakam and Lowry have regained their form, and Powell continues to make his doubters reassess just how good he is and provides his supporters with new highlights and great performances stacked on top of each other. The Lowry and Serge Ibaka pick n’ roll looks to be back in tow as well. The Raptors certainly haven’t hit their ceiling and Fred VanVleet still isn’t back, but there’s plenty to like here, and especially against the Pistons.

Tony Snell is on the opposing team, so anything can happen with his stat-line. This could be the return of Jordan.

There’s no more talk about Casey’s streak or anything like that anymore. The Raptors are the defending champions, they’re a good team, and they should handle the Pistons on the road.