- Record: 37-21 (4-6)
- Eastern (2)
- Atlantic (1)
Ranks
- 111 ORTG (3)
- 106.3 DRTG (17)
- 93.3 Pace (18)
- 73.1 DRB% (24)
- 0.55 TS% (7)
Latest Results
Leaders
- Kyle Lowry 18.3 ppg
- Jonas Valanciunas 8.7 rpg
- Kyle Lowry 7.1 apg
- Jonas Valanciunas 1.2 bpg
- Kyle Lowry 1.5 spg
- Record: 11-46 (2-8)
- Eastern (15)
- Atlantic (5)
Ranks
- 101.3 ORTG (28)
- 110.5 DRTG (28)
- 90.6 Pace (28)
- 72.5 DRB% (28)
- 0.512 TS% (28)
Latest Results
Leaders
- Carmelo Anthony 24.2 ppg
- Amar’e Stoudemire 6.8 rpg
- Jose Calderon 4.7 apg
- Samuel Dalembert 1.3 bpg
- Iman Shumpert 1.3 spg
After a truly hellish stretch of opponents that included no fewer than 6 title contenders (and the Pelicans), the Raptors will get a little respite on the second half of a back-to-back, as they travel to New York to face the saddest organization currently in professional sports. It’s a break that’s sorely needed after last night’s thrashing at the hands of the Golden State Warriors (and no, I’m not going to overreact – unless there’s trouble tonight).
Seriously, look at this roster. The Knicks’ depth chart is currently topped by a Cleveland castoff (Lou Amundson), a second round rookie (Cleanthony Early), a 10-day callup turned key roster cog (Langston Galloway), plus Jason Smith and Jose Calderon, two guys who I feel genuinely sorry for but probably shouldn’t be starting at this point in their NBA careers. Andrea Bargnani led this team in scoring the other day. Andrea Bargnani!
Bargnani and Calderon (and Quincy Acy) are probably the part of this game that bring the most interest to Raptors fans from an opposing team standpoint – while they were in Toronto, all had stretches of extreme popularity of varying lengths, but were moved in order to make way for the current, more well-balanced roster. It’s particularly sad to see Calderon stuck in this mess, as he’s one of my favourite Raptors of all time, personally, and one of the team’s most well-respected alumni. It’d be nice to see him finish his career out in a place where he can contend for a title, but alas. Acy, as well, probably deserves better than this, and Bargnani, well… Let’s be honest, this is exactly where he should be.
In the middle of a back to back, I don’t want to spend too much time talking about matchups, but the Raptors should win this game in a walk if all goes according to plan. The Knicks will certainly get up for a division rival, but the disparity in talent here is huge, and barring a random massive game from someone like Tim Hardaway Jr. (who’s certainly capable of doing so), it’s difficult to see where they will find the points to be competitive. That means that the Raptors only path to a loss is through a lack of effort or a poor shooting night – two things we’ve seen against the Knicks this season in a December matchup. They were able to pull that one out, 95-90 in overtime, which likely bodes well for tonight, as it’s likely the bottom of an expected performance spread.
I apologize for not offering more poignant commentary and analysis here, but it’s difficult to analyze a team who’s best player is out for the season and who just jettisoned their other top scoring option in order to try and finish at the bottom of the barrel. I may be eating crow tomorrow, but I’ll say Raps by 15 despite their inconsistent play as of late, and I feel like I’m being pessimistic.
(Seriously, though. Poor Jose Calderon. Maybe the Raptors can sneak him onto the team plane at the end of the night.)
