The Rap-Up: Is it over yet?

Break out the warm and fuzzies as the Raptors welcome back all-time faves, OG Anunoby and Kyle Lowry.

11 games left.

The Toronto Raptors currently have the longest losing streak in the NBA, at 10 games.

11 games left.

They have been playing without their best player, future Point Guard, best wing scorer, starting Center, and best self-shot-creator.

11 games left.

With the entire starting lineup missing, the offense has plummeted and dragged the team permanently into the ‘Quadrant of Woe’.

11 games left.

8 of the remaining games are against opponents in a playoff or play-in position. The Raptors have home and away games remaining against Brooklyn, including Monday’s home game…..where Toronto is 5.5 point underdogs. If they’re home dogs, the Raptors will likely not be favoured in Brooklyn. The only remaining game is at home against Washington. That may be the only game where Toronto is favoured.

11. Games. Left.

March 25 vs Brooklyn Nets

When Jacque Vaughn was fired on February 19, the Nets had a 38.8% winning percentage (21-33 record).

Since Kevin Ollie was hired on February 20, the Nets have a 29.4% winning percentage (5-12 record).

The situation in Brooklyn is not too dissimilar from Toronto. Ollie may have been thrust into his first NBA head coaching gig in the middle of the season, but Darko Rajakovic has essentially coached three different versions of the Raptors (pre-trades, post-trades, and post-Scottie). Both teams came into the season knowing they were play-in teams, at best. Both teams have a star wing they’ll build their respective teams around (although Toronto’s is 5 years younger and has a higher ceiling).

The comparisons end there, abruptly.

While Toronto has Indiana’s top-3 protected first and, with some lottery luck, a top-6 pick of their own, Brooklyn has no first-round pick as they still owe Houston from the James Harden deal — who was traded away in LAST season’s trade deadline.

The Raptors also have the excuse of injuries. Many, many injuries. Brooklyn’s biggest injury concern was losing Ben Simmons for the season. Simmons only played 15 games for Brooklyn this year.

Fun fact that may only interest me

Dennis Schroder played his worst game of the season in his return to Toronto last month. He missed 6 of his 7 field goal attempts, coughed up 4 turnovers off the bench, and generally looked like someone who was only playing his 4th game for a new team.

Schroder’s plus/minus for the game, -30, was his lowest of the season and 2nd lowest of his entire career, spanning 758 games!

Pfft. And he wanted starter minutes on this team!

Prediction

The Nets visit Toronto on the heels of losing 6 straight and 8 of its last 9. Among those games include losses to Detroit, Charlotte, and San Antonio. They’re nearing the end of a brutal late-season road trip with 10 of 11 games away from home.

Yet, Brooklyn is still 5.5-point favourites to win this game! That should tell you all you need to know about the current state of the Raptors.

It was just over a month ago when the Raptors dismantled the same Nets by 28 points. Ah, the good ol’ days when Toronto had its starters! The Nets get their revenge by adding to Toronto’s losing streak AND covering the 5.5 spread.

March 27 vs New York Knicks

The Knicks have the #3 defense over the last two weeks.

That shouldn’t surprise you. Tom Thibodeau’s middle name is defense, I think. What may surprise you is that the Knicks have done most of this without OG Anunoby, who only played in 3 of those 7 games.

In fact, New York’s starting frontcourt — Anunoby, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson — have played a grand total of 3 games since Jan. 27. The Knicks’ success this year hinges on the returns of Anunoby and Randle.

Assuming OG signs his extension to stay in New York, the Knicks will have a core of Jalen Brunson, Donte Divincenzo, Josh Hart, Anunoby, Randle, Robinson, and Bojan Bogdanovic to wreak havoc on the East next season. As long as they’re healthy, the Knicks will be a serious contender in 2025.

Fun fact that may only interest me

Mitchell Robinson’s season ended abruptly on December 8th after injuring his ankle and having surgery. At the time, he led the NBA with an Offensive Rebounding Percentage of 20.3%.

That was approximately 40 games ago for the Knicks, who currently find themselves……#1 in the NBA in Offensive Rebounding Percentage (32.3%)!

Prediction

Anunoby’s first game at Scotiabank Arena as an opponent will be similar to Pascal Siakam’s return since he’s played with very few current Raptors. Whether or not he’s able to suit up, the ovation he receives will be one of the only bright spots of the night (and worth the price of admission).

As for the game itself, the Raptors will have no answer for Jalen Brunson, who torched Toronto with 38 points in the last meeting, or any of New York’s offensive board crashers, including (gulp) Precious Achiuwa.

The Knicks cover the 10.5 spread and defeat the Raptors by 20.

March 31 vs Philadelphia 76ers

Remember the first week of the season when the Raptors had to play the Sixers on the second game of a back-to-back…..TWICE?!?

Since these teams last met on December 22nd, Philadelphia has performed the following transactions:

• Claimed Kyle Lowry off waivers
• Signed Jeff Dowtin Jr. to a two-way contract
• Traded for Cam Payne
• Signed DJ Wilson to a 10-day contract (which runs out two days before this game….unless it’s renewed)

The Sixers are #1 in turnover rate (a.k.a. they do not turn the ball over), #1 in transition points per play from live rebounds (Alexa, play “Push It” by Salt ‘n’ Pepa), and #1 in steals.

Yup, this is a Nick Nurse team!

Fun fact that may only interest me

Kyle Lowry played 24,265 minutes in a Raptors uniform (including playoffs).

If we remove Chris Boucher from the equation, that’s almost the same amount of Raptors’ career regular season minutes (24,461) as the ENTIRE RAPTORS ROSTER.

Prediction

As was the case throughout his time as Head Coach of the Raptors, Nick Nurse has not given any clues surrounding the timetables for Joel Embiid, Robert Covington (out since December 30), or De’Anthony Melton (out since February 27). Since Embiid hurt his knee against the Warriors on January 30th, Philadelphia has kept afloat with a 10-15 record. If they were in the West, the Sixers would be in 10th and debating the merits of shutting it down for the season. Playing in the East allows Philly to wait out his recovery and hope he’s good to go for the playoffs.

It would be nice to see Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and Gary Trent Jr. match up with Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, and Buddy Hield, but there’s no way of knowing if/when IQ and Barrett will return. As such, I imagine the Sixers will be 9.5-point favourites and should be able to cover, winning by 15 points.

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Last Week: 2-1

Season Record: 46-25 (2-1 against the spread)