Less than 48 hours removed from a close loss against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Toronto Raptors will gear up to go head-to-head with the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena.
Toronto (25-22) will be looking to regain an over .500 record on this West coast swing as they attempt to defeat the Jazz (16-31). In the previous meeting between these two teams, the Raptors emerged victorious in what proved to be quite a blowout in front of fans at the ACC. Still, as this Toronto team knows all too well, no game on the schedule should be taken for granted. It’s a new day, and quite frankly, a totally different Raptor squad that heads into the Salt Lake City in search of their 26th win of the 2013-2014 campaign.
Cage’s Keys to the Game:
Improved Rebounding Effort:
37 rebounds will not cut it tonight. It wasn’t enough on Saturday night either. Utah is not an elite rebounding team by any stretch of the imagination, but with Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors clogging the paint, it is vital that the Raptors complete their defensive possessions. Second chance point can be an absolute killer in this type of game, especially with a young Jazz team looking to give their fans something to cheer for in this rather dismal season. Games are won on the road by taking care of business and doing the little things in order to limit runs for the opposition. Look for this to be a point of emphasis for Jonas Valanciunas and the rest of the Raptor bigs. Other than Patrick Patterson, none of them succeeded in pulling down more than four rebounds against the Blazers last game. Expect a renewed sense of urgency tonight.
Convert the “Freebies”:
You know what hurts more than close losses? Close losses in games where the team misses a ton of free ones from the charity stripe. In Saturday’s loss, the Raptors shot only 68% from the free-throw line. If Toronto had hit a few more free throws at the Moda Center, maybe they would still be on a winning streak heading into tonight’s matchup. Clean up the effort from the foul line, and a victory should follow.
Full 48:
If you watched the Portland game from midway through the third quarter until the matchup’s conclusion, you witnessed the Toronto team that a great number of fans have grown to love. A team that showed a courageous effort despite being down by 19 points against an opponent that sat 20 games above .500. The result was still a loss, but a loss that actually looked as if it may have been a win at some point. Had that effort existed prior to the second half, the Raptors probably would have escaped the state of Oregon with another W.
Behind DeMar DeRozan‘s stellar play, the Toronto Raptors got back into a game they had no business in winning after a pitiful first quarter. An encore performance may come tonight for DeRozan as he hopes to win the matchup against Gordan Hayward (who got selected for the pool for Team USA, leaving DeRozan snubbed). Let’s hope that his effort is contagious and the team plays hungry immediately after tipoff. While on that note, emphasis on effort is nothing new for Kyle Lowry (who happens to be the Eastern Conference Player of the Week). He may have some help tonight, depending on Greivis Vasquez‘s game-time decision to suit up or sit out.
X-Factor – Jonas Valanciunas
JV’s numbers have been on the rise for the past few games. This trend should continue tonight when he suits up against the young big-man duo boasted by Tyrone Corbin and his coaching staff. The Jazz frontcourt will present a solid test for Toronto’s sophomore center as these two squad do battle. With Amir Johnson nursing an ankle injury, look for Jonas Valanciunas to be aggressive in the post area as he attempts to do damage in the paint against the opposition.
