Gameday: Thunder @ Raptors, February 24th

The Toronto Raptors will be hosting the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder tonight in what will be their second and final matchup of the season. In their last matchup, Toronto pulled off the upset and they will look to keep their record against OKC unblemished with a win tonight. OKC will be without their two best players in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams tonight, so naturally this will give Toronto an advantage. Even without these players, OKC has shown that they can still compete and that their defensive system can still be quite troublesome.

Raptors Outlook

Record: 34-23 | 5th in Eastern Conference
Offensive Rating: 113.8 (16th) | Defensive Rating: 111.7 (6th) | Net Rating: +2.1 (11th)

After missing last game for personal reasons, Scottie Barnes will be returning to the lineup. With him likely being matched up with Chet Holmgren, Toronto has an elite defensive option for OKC’s best offensive player left. OKC is a team that thrives on high-pressure defense, they have very pesky guards like Lu Dort and Cason Wallace who are very good on-ball defenders, and they help on defense a ton, often sending multiple players to the ball in order to force turnovers. They can do this because they trust that their subsequent rotations will be sound, and they trust their backline as well.

It is imperative that Toronto takes care of the ball tonight, if they let OKC create too many turnovers, and shift the possession battle their way, it will open the door for OKC to pull off an upset on their side this time.

Thunder Outlook

Record: 44-14 | 1st in Western Conference
Offensive Rating: 117.7 (4th) | Defensive Rating: 106.1 (1st) | Net Rating: +11.6 (1st)

Without Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams, OKC has to rely on their defense and forcing turnovers to get them quality offensive looks in transition. Holmgren is a suitable third option offensively, but he is not capable of carrying an offense, and with Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles in the paint, he will find it challenging to get there. OKC’s best chance at winning is through the three-point differential. They have many great shooters, who can punish lazy rotations with a triple, and a hot shooting night can empower them to a win, like their upset win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their previous game.

As far as creators on offense goes, they don’t really have anyone left who is to be feared as an off the dribble scorer. The recently added Jared McCain has been solid for them thus far, and Dort has shown that he can put the ball on the deck in a pinch, but overall there isn’t much to be wary of in that regard.