Coming off sweeping a back-to-back against the Atlanta Hawks, winners of five of their last six, and riding a season-high three game winning streak, the Toronto Raptors return home to face a fellow cellar-dweller in the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Raptors have looked drastically different on the defensive end over their last six games, posting a 106.4 defensive rating, good for third in the league. This has primarily been driven by Scottie Barnes’ ability to wreck offence with his mammoth stunts and help, and Davion Mitchell’s return to the starting lineup.
Ever since Immanuel Quickley went down again – this time with a left hip strain – Mitchell has stepped up in a massive way. His defence at the point of attack is indispensable for the Raptors to enact their current ball-pressure centric scheme effectively. Darko Rajakovic’s MIG concept hasn’t worked for the majority of the season, and has been particularly weak when Mitchell has been out of the rotation.
The Pelicans’ season has had a somewhat similar trajectory to the Raptors. They started out losing almost everything and were among the most injured teams in the NBA. Recently as more of their players have gotten healthy –namely Zion Williamson – they have performed better, winning four of their last six.
Raptors Outlook: 13-32 | 13th in Eastern Conference | Off rating: 110.3 (23nd) | Def rating: 116.3 (27th) | Net rating: -5.9 (25th)
Raptors Previous Results
@ Atlanta W 117-94
@ Atlanta W 122-119
vs Orlando W 109- 93
@ Milwaukee L 130-112
vs Boston W 110-97
In addition to the much-improved defence, Darko-ball has been working on offence. The Raptors have been successfully using their Chin series to get deep post position for Barnes and have busted a steady diet of zone with some clever moves – both improvised and scripted.
Rajakovic’s motion offence is well entrenched in the team at this point, and the second year head coach has also proven himself a wiz with the pen. Lately his approach is bearing some fruit, as the Raptors’ offensive rating has seen a slight improvement from its 110.3 mark on the season to 113.5 over the last six.
Jakob Poeltl has been added to the Raptors’ injury report as questionable with low back stiffness. He had been reported with the same issue earlier in the season, and Bruno Fernando replaced him in the starting lineup before Poeltl later made his lone appearance off the bench. We will keep an eye on this and add a note if there is any update.
Pelicans Outlook: 12-34 | 14th in Western Conference | Off rating: 109.2 (25th) | Def rating: 117.8 (28th) | Net rating: -8.6 (29th)
Pelicans Previous Results
@ Hornets L 123-92
@ Memphis L 139-126
vs Utah W 123-119
vs Utah W 136-123
vs Dallas W 119-116
On paper, the Pelicans appear to be much better than the results they’ve had this season. Of course, they do have the highest cash total per days missed of any team in the NBA. Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Dejounte Murray, Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy III and CJ McCollum have all missed significant time.
The Pelicans have the 27th ranked halfcourt offence, but do get out and run in transition fairly frequently and effectively. But the Raptors have been good at limiting opponents from getting out on the break. One way they do this is by tagging on offensive rebounds.
On the other end the Pelicans allow a ton of the most efficient shots in basketball – at the rim and corner 3s – and their defence has been particularly porous on the interior. They have bottom-10 marks in opponent field goal percentage both at the rim and from the short mid-range. The Raptors also take a ton of their shots from these two analytically endorsed areas. New Orleans’ halfcourt defence and transition defence are also near the bottom of the league. Barring a huge performance from Williamson, the Raptors should have a great opportunity to extend this fun streak.
Game Info
Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m. ET
Television: TSN
Radio: TSN Radio 1050
Starting Lineups (Projected)
New Orleans Pelicans
PG: CJ McCollum
SG: Javonte Green
SF: Trey Murphy III
PF: Zion Williamson
C: Yves Missi
Toronto Raptors
PG: Davion Mitchell
SG: Gradey Dick
SF: RJ Barrett
PF: Scottie Barnes
C: Jakob Poeltl
Injury Report
Pelicans
Dejounte Murray (Finger) – Questionable
Brandon Ingram (Ankle) – Out
Herb Jones (Torn labrum) – Out
Raptors
Kelly Olynyk (Calf) – Out*
Immanuel Quickley (Hip) – Out
Editors note*
Lines
Team | Spread | Money | Total |
New Orleans Pelicans | +1.5 (1.87) | 1.95 | O 232.5 (1.90) |
Toronto Raptors | -1.5 (1.95) | 1.87 | U 232.5 (1.90) |
*Odds as of Jan. 27, 12:00 am ET*
All Toronto Raptors odds are provided by NBA Betting Site Betway!