Raptors Cage

Game Day Preview: Raptors look to keep rolling vs Pistons

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greg-monroe

Believe it or not, the Toronto Raptors have won 3 out of the last 4 games. They head to Motor City tonight to take on the Detroit Pistons. The Raptors will likely have home court advantage tonight with all the bus trips planned by fans. Expect the Palace to be buzzing with Raps fans tonight.

After the Brandon Jennings injury, the Pistons went from a borderline playoff team to the lottery. They recently acquired Reggie Jackson from the Oklahoma City Thunder, which really hasn’t done much good.

Kyle Lowry is questionable tonight, however I certainly don’t see any need for him to suit up. The Raptors should be able to handle the Pistons, after taking care of the New York Knicks with ease last contest.

The Pistons-Raps series has been quite interesting, highlighted with ‘Cock that joint back and banged on em’. These teams don’t really like each other, and that isn’t going to change tonight.

Let’s get to the Cage’s Keys to the Game

Physical play 

The Pistons are a relatively soft team, to be honest. Their wings lack size to handle guys like DeRozan and James Johnson, and their big men won’t particularly intimidate the Raps. Look for the Raps wings and bigs to continue to look inside early and often.

Interior defence 

Contrarily, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond are probably the Pistons’ biggest offensive threats. The Raps will have to be strong on the inside – especially Jonas Valanciunas. Don’t allow them to get the inside edge early, and the Raps should have this game.

Intensity 

I’ll say it again – the Raptors should win this game. They simply need to show up and play humble, hard basketball for tonight and the rest of the season. There’s a reason this team has 42 wins – the rest will take care of itself. On the road, the Raps tend to get off to a sluggish start – don’t let that happen.

X-Factor: Jonas Valanciunas

The JV – Drummond match-up has been interesting. JV has been an absolute monster against the Pistons this season, and he’s really gotten the better out of Drummond. This match-up should be an interesting rivalry for years to come.

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