2nd in the East vs. 7th. Raptors-Nets, let’s do this.
Now that all the seeding games are finished, the real basketball is firmly in our cross-hairs as viewers. The thing we’ve so desperately been waiting for is remarkably close. The Raptors are about to start the playoffs as the defending champions, and their first victims come in the form of the Brooklyn Nets. Game 1 in the bubble, and hoping to radically change the game 1 curse that we’ve come to know and love as Raptors fans.
The best thing I can do *today* since there hasn’t been much, if any, material change to how this series is going to shake out since Louis Zatzman dropped his mammoth series preview, is to plug said preview. It’s extremely detailed, and hits all the notes you could possibly think of for this upcoming series. So, you can find that here.
It’s not often in life, that we get to exorcise our demons on national television, but the Raptors are going to be doing just that in some sense. The Nets brought a tragic end to the Raptors first year as Kyle Lowry’s team, and now he returns to smash them to bits, as a champion and future hall-of-famer. He’s basically the only connective tissue besides the names on the jerseys.
Although it’s been covered to death on this website, the Nets are going to shoot from three very often. They profile as a march madness miracle/Cinderella team, only they’ll have to beat the odds 4 times out of 7, rather than 1 out of 1. However (comma) the Raptors do give up a lot of three pointers (especially in the corners), so there’s always the possibility that those two factors intersect at a problematic point for the team from Toronto.
I’m excited to see how this game shakes out. It should be a taste of what’s to come in the series. It’ll also mean the next game day piece can get a little more expansive.
Here’s Es’s preview:
Here’s the preview podcast:
Game Info
Tipoff: 4pm EST | TV: Sportsnet | Radio: Sportsnet590TheFan
Raptors Lineups
Oshae Brissett (knee) is day-to-day, and Patrick McCaw (knee) has left the bubble and is out indefinitely.
PG: Kyle Lowry, Terence Davis II, Matt Thomas, Stanley Johnson
SG: Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, Paul Watson
SF: OG Anunoby, Malcolm Miller
PF: Pascal Siakam, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Chris Boucher
C: Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Dewan Hernandez
Nets Lineups
Donta Hall (ankle), and Chris Chiozza (ankle) are day-to-day. Jamal Crawford is out indefinitely with a hamstring injury. Michael Beasley, Taurean Prince, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Nicolas Claxton, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant are out indefinitely and not with the team.
PG: Caris LeVert, Tyler Johnson
SG: Garrett Temple, Jeremiah Martin
SF: Joe Harris, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Justin Anderson
PF: Rodions Kurucs, Lance Thomas
C: Jarrett Allen
Enjoy the game, and have a blessed day.
