Gameday: Raptors @ Magic, November 21

This is a good early season test for the Raptors.

Toronto will play Orlando (8-5) and Indiana (7-5) on a back-to-back. It’s the Raptors third back-to-back set of the season, going 1-3 in the other four games. The Magic in a lot of ways are built similar to the Raptors. Length, lack of shooting, and solid defence. It’s always weird going against a clone.

The Raptors will also play their second In-Season Tournament game. They dropped their first one 108-105 to Boston on Friday. Orlando is 1-1 in the tournament with a minus-14 point differential. Toronto essentially needs to win this game to stay alive, since there are only four group games and four teams in each conference advance to the knockout round (three group winners plus one wildcard). A 2-2 record wouldn’t be good enough to be a wildcard team.

Other Group C records: Boston (2-0), Brooklyn (2-1), Chicago (0-2).

Raptors scope (6-7, 11th in East | Offensive Rating: 23rd | Defensive Rating: 9th)

Toronto’s offensive rating climbed up four spots, thanks to a season-high 142 points against the Pistons on Sunday in a wire-to-wire win. Toronto led that game by as many as 40 and racked up a franchise record 44 assists.

Players to watch: Jakob Poeltl is 11-11 over his last two games. Precious Achiuwa stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, six boards and five assists. Precious also showed encouraging signs with his three point shot, knocking down two including one above the break. Chris Boucher also made three treys.

Magic scope (8-5, 5th in East | Offensive Rating: 25th | Defensive Rating: T-1st)

Orlando’s leap started in the second half last season, where they played over .500 but missed the play-in tournament. This season, the Magic hope to be in the playoff picture for the first time since the 2020 bubble. A huge reason for Orlando’s success has been their defensive improvement from a middle of the road team to challenging Minnesota for the league’s best rating. Six players average double figures in scoring. The Magic’s strong start is also despite Wendell Carter Jr. and Markelle Fultz only playing in five games each this season.