Gameday: Raptors @ Mavericks, Jan. 19

An earnest attempt at stopping Luka Magic.

As the Raptors continue to test the limits of just how short an NBA rotation can be, they roll into Dallas, Texas for a good ol’ fashioned duel.

The Raptors played, very close to a 6-man rotation against the Heat in a game that dialed up the physicality. Justin Champagnie had the misfortune of dislocating his finger during that game, but he is reportedly available. Gary Trent Jr. is questionable. This makes it seem like the Raptors will have, at best, an 8-man rotation. I suppose we’ll see.

An interesting schematic wrinkle is the fact that the Mavericks have started to employ switch + blitz looks far more often on defense. On it’s face, this would seem to put the Raptors back in the situation they’ve been in quite often lately – with Fred VanVleet giving up the ball against blitzes/traps, trying to make use of his off-ball spacing and shooting, and Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby trying to be the best versions of facilitators and creators that they can be. It’s interesting to move away from what you’ve been doing all year, especially against a top tier defense. And yes, that’s right, the Mavericks have been the most under-the-radar defense this season, coming in at 4th in defensive rating.

Can Siakam operate in the same clinical fashion against the likes of Dorian Finney-Smith (maybe Maxi Kleber if he’s healthy) and the paint marauding Kristaps Porzingis? Since returning from his COVID spell, Siakam is averaging roughly 24/10/7 on 48/40/69 shooting splits – if anyone can corrupt one of the best defenses in the league on the Raptors roster right now? It’s probably Siakam. I’m curious to see if Doncic draws the Anunoby matchup, because Doncic is kind of a load to deal with in the paint and that may take away some of Anunoby’s post-up potency. And of course, VanVleet could always just beat the blitz and continue to operate as the Raptors top guy.

The question, as always for the Raptors vs. Doncic, is how much attention are they going to throw at him? Perhaps this will be figured out in the flow of the game – depending on how the Raptors halfcourt offense fares – but it would seem wise to expect a lot of overzealous defensive looks coming Doncic’s way. For my money? I would appreciate a bit more room for Anunoby to handle him 1-on-1, just to see what that looks like for a change of pace. In their first matchup this year, Doncic slowed down everything to take away the Raptors transition offense, and he diced up their defense to the tune of 12 assists, a mammoth 20 potential assists, and 32 points created off of his dimes. He’s typically been a step ahead of their rotations.

We’ll see. Strap in.