Gameday: Trail Blazers @ Raptors, April 3

The Toronto Raptors return home for a pair of games, with the first coming Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena, hosting the Portland Trail Blazers.

With six games remaining, this will be the first contest with Toronto officially eliminated from the playoffs. After the San Antonio Spurs’ 113-106 win against the Denver Nuggets, Canada’s team magic number to clinch the seventh-best odds in the May 12 draft lottery is three. The Raptors either need three losses, the Spurs three wins, or any combination of the three of those.

Raptors Outlook: 28-48 | 11th in Eastern Conference | Off rating: 109.7 (26th) | Def rating: 114.0 (16th) | Net rating: -4.3 (24th)

Raptors Previous Results

@ Chicago L W 137-118

@ Philadelphia W 127-109

vs Charlotte W 108-97

@ Brooklyn W 116-86

@ Washington W 112-104

Toronto comes into tonight having their four-game win streak snapped in the Windy City. It was the Nikola Vucevic and Coby White show in that one, with the pair combining for 50 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists. Despite the loss, the Raptors have been playing some of their best ball lately, winning 10 of their last 16 games. Those wins have all come against teams below .500, however, including the Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Washington Wizards twice, as well as the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets once.

The biggest reason for the Raptors’ success has been their defence, as Darko Rajakovic’s squad has stepped on that end. The defensive side of the ball is no joke now for Toronto, holding the league’s best defensive rating through March (106.9) and the second-best defensive rating in the NBA since mid-January, a 37-game stretch. However, 12 of their 15 games last month were against bottom-10 offences.

RJ Barrett and Ochai Agbaji return from resting tonight, while Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl will sit out for rest of their own, with the latter being crucial to the Raptors winning. Without the Austrian big man in the lineup, Toronto has gone 5-12 without their starting centre this season and 9-40 without him over the past two years.

Trail Blazers Outlook: 33-43 | 12th in Western Conference | Off rating: 111.4 (22nd) | Def rating: 114.6 (17th) | Net rating: -3.2 (23rd)

Trail Blazers Previous Results

@ Atlanta W 127-113

@ New York L 110-93

@ Sacramento L 128-107

vs Cleveland L 122-111

vs Boston 129-116

Portland travels to Canada in the middle of their five-game road trip, having recently snapped a four-game losing streak. While Toronto recently snapped a four-game win streak, the Trail Blazers did the opposite, losing 127-113 to the Atlanta Hawks on April Fool’s Day. Despite the loss, London, Ontario native Shaedon Sharpe put together one of his best games of the season, finishing with 33 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

With former second overall pick Scoot Henderson out with a concussion, it’s been former Raptors second-round pick Dalano Banton into the starting lineup. The Rexdale neighbourhood native has shown flashes on both sides of the floor throughout his time in Portland, as the team is also getting contributions from players like Deni Avdija offensively, and Toumani Camara defensively.

Game Info

Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m. ET

Television: TSN

Radio: TSN 1050