Game Day Preview: Raptors Heading Into Must Win vs Pelicans

After throwing up a stinker vs the Atlanta Hawks last night, the Toronto Raptors move onto New Orleans to take on the Pelicans on the back-end of a back to back. The Raps (37-29) will look to snap their two game losing streak in New Orleans (27-39).

This is as close to a must-win as you can get. With the Oklahoma City Thunder coming to town on Friday. The Chicago Bulls are breathing right down the Raps’ neck, sitting 0.5 behind them for the third seed. The Bulls take on the Philadelphia 76ers tonight, thus a loss would essentially guarantee the Raps moving down to 4th. More bad news – the Brooklyn Nets have passed the Washington Wizards and sit only 2.5 back of the Raptors, meaning the risk of losing the division is real. Even if the Raps end 4th, they would end up playing Brooklyn – not a match-up we want.

Jonas Valanciunas is listed as questionable, Patrick Patterson will be out, and the Raps are going to be tired. With that being said, they have to grind this one out. How can they do that? Let’s get to the…

Cage’s Keys to the Game 

Unibrow 

This guy is an animal. Anthony Davis has been averaging around 33 and 15 over the past 6 games, and without JV and Pat, Amir Johnson will have his hands full. Expect Tyler Hansbrough and Chuck Hayes to get a crack at it as well – containing this man might single-handedly determine a win or loss.

The Bench

The bench has been pretty bad lately. In fact, it has been so bad that Nando De Colo, Greivis Vasquez, and Kyle Lowry all saw the floor at the same time yesterday. Let’s hope someone on the bench can step up tonight – namely John Salmons. 

High Energy

The Raptors should win this game. They are the better team, as indicated by their record. However, they are on a back to back. Thus, coming out with high energy and sustaining that for the full game will be crucial in this one, especially with a depleted front court.

X-Factor – Chuck Hayes 

I’m going with Chunky Hayes here because there is a good chance he will be guarding Davis for a significant portion of the game (if JV is a no-go). He has proven in the past that he’s a solid defender, despite his lack of size (sorry, height). Let’s hope he can hold his ground.