The Raptors are looking up at the Nets in the standings. Can they close the gap tonight?
Oh hello! Welcome back to NBA basketball! The All-Star break is over, and not a moment too soon, as the discourse around All-Star Weekend was particularly painful this year.
It’s time to get to the pain that is the 2023-24 Toronto Raptors.
Our Raptors, with a re-made roster that, well, may or may not fit together, have lost three straight games (two of them embarrassing blowout losses) and 7 of their last 10. They remain five full games out of 10th place in the East (and the play-in tournament), and are currently sixth from the bottom of the standings (with their lottery pick being top-6 protected). Things aren’t great!
They’re not great for the Brooklyn Nets either, at least. The Nets are also currently out of the play-in picture, though they’re only 2.5 games back; they don’t have a 2024 draft pick either, so tanking for the lottery would do them even less good than the Raptors. They just fired their coach, the extremely affable (though perhaps not as capable) Jacque Vaughan and replaced him with Kevin Ollie, who, while successful in college with UConn, has zero NBA head coaching experience.
So, you know. Don’t expect this one to be on NBA Classics anytime soon.
Lineup-wise, both teams are healthy and should have all their core players available tonight, including Ben Simmons, who’ll likely start at point guard for Brooklyn, causing his usual matchup challenges. I’ll be curious to see how Scottie Barnes matches up with Simmons, especially to see if Barnes can keep up with Simmons in transition (assuming Ollie lets Simmons loose). The battle in the middle between Nic Clayton and Jakob Poeltl will also be one to watch. (Feel the excitement!)
In all seriousness, these next two months are going to be key for evaluating the players the Raptors have, what they excel at, how they play together, and whether or not they have a role in this team’s future plans. Can RJ Barrett be a reliable, consistent small forward? Can Immanuel Quickley handle the larger load? Can Barnes be the leader and number one option the team needs?
We’ll find out, starting tonight.
How to Watch
7:00 p.m. ET on TSN
Starting Lineups:
Toronto: Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett. Gary Trent Jr.
Brooklyn: Mikal Bridges, Dorian Finney-Smith, Nic Claxton, Cam Thomas, Dennis Schroder
Injuries:
Toronto: None
Brooklyn: Dariq Whitehead (shin — out)