The Rap-Up: A busy week wraps up with Vince Carter’s jersey retirement

A pair of MVPs come to town this week, but all eyes will be on some Raptors legends on Saturday night. This should be one of the most fun weeks of the season!

As hyperbolic as it may sound, this may be the season’s biggest week for the Toronto Raptors!

With all due respect to the Charlotte Hornets, this week’s 4-game slate blesses Scotiabank Arena attendees with visits from the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Sacramento Kings. In other words, Nikola Jokic (3 MVPs), LeBron James (4 MVPs), and one of the greatest Raptors of all time, DeMar DeRozan, will each make their only appearances in Toronto this season.

Yet, none of those superstars headline the week ahead for Toronto.

All eyes (and words from us) will be on Vince Carter on November 2nd. Carter, who was recently inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, will have his #15 jersey raised to the rafters! It will be an emotional night for Air Canada, especially with DeRozan and Kings Assistants (and former Raptors) Doug Christie & Jay Triano in attendance.

If (When?) this season goes awry, we may all look back on this week as the highlight of the season! That’s about as ominous as this article will get. Now, on to this week’s slate.

October 28 vs Denver Nuggets

The 2019 and 2023 NBA Champs lock horns at Scotiabank Arena when the Denver Nuggets come to town. The Nuggets kick off a 3-game road trip in hopes of getting what the Raptors already have — a victory! The altitude didn’t affect Denver’s opponents as the Thunder and Clippers left the Mile High City with early statement wins.

After losing Bruce Brown during the 2023 offseason, the Nuggets again fell victim to luxury tax concerns this past summer, allowing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson to leave via free agency. The loss of KCP left a hole in the starting lineup, leading to a promotion for Christian Braun. The loss of Jackson (and Braun) made a thin bench thinner. Adding Russell Westbrook should help, but Michael Malone’s team will need significant development from Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson.

Fun fact that may only interest me

The Toronto Raptors have amassed 40 triple-doubles over its 30 years of existence.

Nikola Jokic has amassed 40 triple-doubles since February 2023!

Prediction

The Raptors can’t possibly beat Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, right? Maybe it’s the possible return of RJ Barrett. Maybe it’s Toronto’s surprising advantage when the teams turn to their benches. Maybe it’s Denver being outscored by 28 in points in the paint over the first two games — the same area Toronto was +26 in its win over Philadelphia. Maybe my mind is racing at the thought Jonathan Mogbo blocking Jokic, Michael Porter, and Aaron Gordon….all in the same possession.

Regardless of the reason, Toronto covers the +8.5 point spread.

October 30 @ Charlotte Hornets

How you approach (and leave) this game as a fan is probably indicative of how you want this season to play out.

A Raptors win would be great because Charlotte presents one of only two opponents the Raptors face in the first 25 games which had a sub-.500 record last season. A loss would help the Capture the Flagg campaign, as the Hornets are also in rebuild mode.

Brandon Miller, fresh off finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting, is battling a calf strain and will not be available. Two other starters, Josh Green and Mark Williams, may benefit from the three-day break between games. Green, who was acquired from Dallas in the Klay Thompson trade, is dealing with an achilles injury. Williams, the Hornets’ starting Center who had a breakout sophomore season and almost averaged a double-double (12.7 points and 9.7 rebounds), is day-to-day with a foot injury.

Fun fact that may only interest me

This may not be a fact but I’ve watched this so many times that I believe it to be true.

In a tie game, with just over two minutes to play, Ball threw a pass to himself off the backboard for the go-ahead bucket.

Prediction

As mentioned above, the Hornets will enter this game with 3 days rest after suffering a narrow home loss to the Miami Heat on Saturday. If Green and Williams return to the lineup, in addition to Barrett and Quickley still being out, the Hornets could run away with this one. As much as Toronto has this game circled as a possible win, folks in Charlotte are thinking the same about facing the Raptors!

Toronto has won 3 of the last 4 in Charlotte and 7 of the last 8 overall. The Raptors cover the +3.5 spread.

November 1 vs Los Angeles Lakers

Bronny James has never lost an NBA game!

The Lakers have opened the season with impressive home victories over Western Conference playoff contenders: Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, and Sacramento Kings.

Anthony Davis is your first week MVP (sorry not sorry Jayson Tatum). The Brow leads the league in scoring and doing a lot of damage from the line, averaging 15 free throws per game!

After getting the token LeBron/Bronny appearance out of the way in the first half of the first game, new Head Coach, JJ Redick has squeezed what he can out of a depleted bench. With injuries to Jarred Vanderbilt, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and Christian Wood, the reserves are led by Gabe Vincent, who missed most of last season, and Dalton Knecht, who looks primed to end the season on the All-Rookie team.

Fun fact that may only interest me

LeBron recorded a triple-double in Saturday’s win over the Kings. There have been 11 games in NBA history where a player aged 38 or older recorded a triple-double. LeBron has 8 of those games.

Elvin Hayes, Tim Duncan, and Karl Malone are the only others to accomplish the feat. LeBron is well aware of any statistical feat within his grasp. Later this season, look for him to surpass Malone as the oldest person to record a triple-double (Malone did it at 40 years and 127 days), as well as tie Michael Jordan as the only other player to score at least 40 points at the age of 40 or older.

Prediction

Jakob Poeltl will have his hands full with Davis. If AD can get Poeltl into early foul trouble — very plausible considering Poeltl wouldn’t be able to stay with Davis on the perimeter — Davis will be drooling at the sight of Bruno Fernando or a less-than-100% Kelly Olynyk or any other Raptor that will be at a huge height disadvantage. He could be in line for a 40-point, 20-rebound game.

The Lakers cover the -6.5 spread easily.

November 2 vs Sacramento Kings

Like the Philadelphia 76ers (and subsequently the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves), the Kings did not spend the offseason resting on the laurels of simply making the playoffs; instead, they made moves in the trade market.

First, the Kings traded away Davion Mitchell, Sasha Vezenkov, and a 2024 second-round pick that eventually became Jamal Shead…..for Jalen McDaniels. Um, okay. Parting with Vezenkov could have been justified. He was unhappy with his situation and wanted to return to Europe. However, since he was still under contract, the Kings would either have to waive him and pay an agreed-upon portion of the remainder of his contract or keep him and risk wasting a roster spot on someone who didn’t want to be there. Except, Vezenkov ended up forgoing the entirety of his NBA contract to return to Europe!

Meanwhile, Mitchell, who was buried in the depth chart behind De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter, and Keon Ellis, was off-loaded because his next contract would be tough to afford. The second-round pick was the sweetener needed to take on the presumed risk surrounding Vezenkov’s contract.

In other words, Toronto landed both of its backup Point Guards in exchange for the worst Raptor to don the uniform in quite some time.

The Kings continued its interesting foray into the trade market by acquiring the presumed missing piece in its pursuit of playoff success…….DeMar DeRozan?!? This is not meant to slander DeRozan, but with Fox, Keegan Murray, and Sabonis already in the starting lineup, getting another scorer (especially one who isn’t known for his defensive acumen) seemed sketchy, at best. On the other hand, if the strategy is to simply outscore opponents 150-147 every night, then count me all the way in!

Fun fact that may only interest me

Only once in NBA history has a team had 4 players average 20 points or more in the same season. The ‘69-’70 Lakers had Jerry West (31.2), Wilt Chamberlain (27.3), Elgin Baylor (24.0), and Happy Hairston (20.6). However, Wilt only played 12 games after getting injured early in the year. It’s probably safe to assume Happy Hairston wouldn’t reach 20 per game if Wilt played more games. Although, who are we to doubt someone named Happy.

Sorry, that’s not the point of this fun fact. The Kings have a chance to be the first team to accomplish this incredible feat of 4 players averaging 20 points or more in the same season. Fox, Sabonis, and DeRozan are each over 21.5, while Murray isn’t far behind at 18.5. This will be an interesting one to track all season long.

Prediction

On a night when the Raptors honour Vince Carter by retiring his jersey, the product on the court will play second fiddle. Thankfully for the Raptors, the fans won’t care too much when they can’t keep up with the Kings’ firepower. Sacramento covers the -3.5 spread.

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Last Week’s Record: 1-2

Season Record: 1-2