Just one win short of crawling back to .500 for the first time since the season began, the Toronto Raptors’ road back to respectability has been filled with many ups and downs but the goal is right there after a disastrous 2-8 start to the campaign.
Toronto will get its opportunity to make it back to .500 when it takes on the Boston Celtics Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT on Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet East and Sportsnet ONE.
Unfortunately for the Raptors, they’ll be in tough as they’ll be playing on the second night of a back-to-back, and no matter how easy it was against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, flying into a new city in the wee hours of the morning, facing a talented Celtics team (no matter how banged up they are) that’s had a day to rest and recover will make for a challenging task.
Here are three things to watch while you take in this evening’s game.
Powell dilemma
Since being inserted into the starting lineup over his last nine games, Norman Powell’s been on a tear, averaging 23.4 points per game on 50.7 per cent shooting from the field and a 47.5-per-cent clip from deep (on 6.8 attempts).
But as strong as he’s been, the age-old dilemma of if Powell should continue to start has once again popped up.
On one hand, historical evidence doesn’t lie. Powell is definitely a better starter than he is a reserve player, averaging about eight points more per game when given the chance to start than coming off the bench.
On the other hand, with the prospect of OG Anunoby returning to the lineup Thursday after an eight-game absence (Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Anunoby would be 50-50 to play against Boston), there’s a good chance Powell will return to the bench as Nurse has appeared to prefer starting with a more traditional lineup with Aron Baynes at centre, rather than the small-ball unit he’ll often close games with.
There’s little doubt Powell has earned a chance to be a full-time starter, but we’ll just have to see if that’s finally in the cards for the six-year veteran.
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Siakam back in all-star form
Another Raptor who’s looked great of late is Pascal Siakam, who has averaged 25.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting 50.8 per cent from the field over his last seven games.
The old aggression and swagger he had going to the basket while looking to finish rather than just trying to get calls has been a noticeable shift in his play and is a major reason he’s been more efficient and more successful. Additionally, his aggression has been rewarded with those free-throw attempts he had been trying to draw – he’s taking about seven free throws per game during that six-game span.
And even more encouraging yet is the fact his three-point shot is rounding into form now as well. Over his last two games, Siakam is 8-of-12 from distance after a 12-game span that saw him shoot just 13.5 per cent from three-point range.
In short, Siakam’s game is firing on all cylinders right now, and although he had a decent game the last time Toronto saw Boston back in the beginning of January, he’s trending in a much different direction right now than back then and figures to be poised for a big, impactful game Thursday.
End of a long road trip – sort of
Toronto’s game against Boston Thursday will mark the end of a six-game road trip that’s largely been successful, with the club going 4-1 so far.
A 5-1 capper to what has been a feel-good roadie for the club would be a nice reward for the hard work the Raptors have done to put themselves in a position to get back to .500. Perhaps more importantly, however, a victory Thursday will help alleviate pressure for the remainder of what’s been a tough stretch in their schedule.
Even though the Raptors are finishing a six-game road trip, they’ll only get a small respite playing the Minnesota Timberwolves back “home” in Tampa on Sunday before heading back out on the road for three more with back-to-back encounters against the Milwaukee Bucks before seeing the Timberwolves again, this time in Minnesota.
