Gameday: Raptors @ Rockets, February 9

The Toronto Raptors are heading out on the road to face off against the Houston Rockets in their building. Toronto is currently on a three-game losing streak, after losing multiple starters to injury recently, combined with some tough matchups, things have unsurprisingly not been going well. The Houston Rockets are currently in the midst of their own losing streak, as they have fallen short in their last six contests. Both teams will be looking to climb out of their recent stretches of hardship today. 2:00 start time because the Super Bowl kicks off at 6:30 today, so Raptors fans can get their fill of basketball and football.

Raptors Outlook: 16-36 | 13th in Eastern Conference | Off rating: 110.5 (24th) | Def rating: 116.2 (27th) | Net rating: -5.7 (26th)

Raptors Previous Results

@ OKC L 121-109

vs Memphis L 138-107

vs New York L 121-115

vs Los Angeles (Clippers) W 115-108

vs Chicago L 122-106

Without RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl in the lineup, offense is much harder to come by for the Toronto Raptors. Without Poeltl’s bruising screens, rebounding, and playmaking, or Barrett’s hard-nosed drives and strong cuts to the rim, it puts more pressure on the others to create offense. Scottie Barnes has not had a true shooting percentage above 51 percent in his last three games, a clear sign that the conditions he is playing in are less than ideal, combined with some questionable shot selection from the Raptors star. Against the Houston Rockets, the 4th best defense in the NBA, it will no doubt be an arduous task to generate consistent good offense. It will take a herculean effort from Barnes, along with some noteworthy contributions from players like Ja’Kobe Walter and Gradey Dick.

Immanuel Quickley, who recently returned from injury also has to step up in a big way offensively, especially behind the arc. He will likely have elite defender Amen Thompson checking him, so Toronto needs to put Thompson in screening actions to try and get Quickley some easier matchups during the game. Without huge games from Quickley and Barnes today, it will be almost impossible for Toronto to win.

Rockets Outlook: 32-20 | 5th in Western Conference | Off rating: 114.2 (11th) | Def rating: 109.7.9 (4th) | Net rating: 4.5 (7th)

Rockets Previous Results

@ Dallas L 116-105

vs Minnesota L 127-114

vs Brooklyn L 99-97

vs New York L 124-118

vs Brooklyn L 110-98

Houston is on a skid currently, and their offensive limitations have been a main issue for them during this time. Jalen Green has been putting up big scoring numbers for them, but they are often coupled with inefficient games as well. With Fred VanVleet in and out of the lineup lately, they lack the perimeter table setter that they need to maximize themselves on offense. Against Toronto today, first-time All-Star Alperen Sengun will likely have favorable matchups a good amount of the game, so it will be imperative that Barnes be in a position to help on his post-ups, and maybe even take the Sengun matchup himself. Sengun is their most important player on offense today and if you can neutralize him, it will be much easier for a path to victory to form.

Game Info

Tip-Off: 2:00 p.m. ET

Television: Sportsnet 1

Radio: Sportsnet 590 The Fan