This game feels like it doesn’t need to happen. The Raptors have five players and a variety of coaches out with health and safety protocol. They certainly didn’t need to play their previous game against the Houston Rockets, which saw one player and a variety of coaches out for the same reason. Now they have far more players and one more coach out.
But as long as this game is happening, we should still talk about it, I suppose.
The Pistons are one of the most interesting teams in the league. They have the second-worst record, yet their wins are over the Lakers, Sixers, Nets, Heat, and Suns, as well as a small handful of bad teams like the Magic, Pelicans, and Celtics. They are a young, losing team, yet their leading scorers are all veterans — Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart can barely get time on this team, despite showing plenty of promise.
Yet Jerami Grant has exploded into something far more than anyone expected from his days on the Nuggets. He is averaging 23.4 points per game on solid splits across the board. He’s shown pop shooting off the dribble, creating for himself and others. Plus, it’s nice to see bangers like Grant succeed. Grant has turned into an All-Star caliber wing, which is pretty cool given where his trajectory was viewed even last season.
Yet Grant is questionable for this game. Delon Wright, Toronto’s former exciting young guard? He’s out for the season. The Pistons have few other exciting players. Like I said, this one really, really doesn’t need to be played.
Game Info
Tipoff: 7:00pm EST | TV: TSN | Radio: TSN
Raptors Lineup
Well, Fred VanVleet, Pat McCaw, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Malachi Flynn are out with health and safety protocols. Best wishes to all of them for a quick and complete return to health, if this is, as it seems, to be more than just an abundance of caution.
PG: Kyle Lowry, Terence Davis
SG: DeAndre’ Bembry, Matt Thomas, Jalen Harris.
SF: Norman Powell, Paul Watson, Yuta Watanabe
PF: Chris Boucher, Stanley Johnson
C: Aron Baynes, Donta Hall
Pistons Lineup
Jerami Grant (quad) is questionable. Frank Jackson (illness), Delon Wright (groin), Blake Griffin (the team doesn’t want him to play again for the team), Jahlil Okafor (knee), and Killian Hayes (hip) are all out.
PG: Dennis Smith Jr., Saben Lee
SG: Wayne Ellington, Josh Jackson
SF: Saddiq Bey, Sviatoslav Mykhailuk, Rodney McGruder
PF: Sekou Doumbaya
C: Mason Plumlee, Isaiah Stewart
The Line
Raptors are -7.5. Don’t bet on this game with so few important players playing; they’re impossible to predict. Over-under is 214.
