Coming off a 98-91 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night, the Toronto Raptors (30-25) will look for victory #31 tonight as they cap off their three game homestand tonight against the Orlando Magic (17-40). While the previous game resulted in a W for the Raptors, the overall performance was nothing worth writing home about.
However, part of evolving into a good team is finding ways to win when your performance makes it seem as if you shouldn’t, and that’s what Toronto did— even though the quality of the opponent was not the greatest. With that being said, tonight’s opposition presents a task similar to the one that Cleveland brought to the ACC: a team with a poor record, but still a team that can pull off occasional surprise wins every now and then. What does that means for Toronto? Business as usual. Just get the job done. After all, a great man once said “a woman is a woman”.
Cage’s Keys to the Game:
Sophomore Sequel:
For the first time in what seems like a long while, both Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas had solid outings when the Cavaliers came to town. The only problem is that these two haven’t exactly given amazing follow-up performances as of late. This isn’t to say that T-Ross and JV have to put up 20 apiece tonight, but rather to suggest that they play tonight’s game with the same intensity level they showed up with on Friday night. Against a relatively young Orlando Magic team, the two Raptor sophomores should get opportunities to leave their mark on this game. If they make their effort apparent, I don’t see why Dwane Casey would have them on a quick leash in tonight’s matchup.
Pressure Oladipo:
Victor Oladipo has been a bright spot in what has been a pretty dismal season for Orlando. Two nights ago, the standout rookie put up 30 points, 14 assists, and 9 rebounds against the New York Knicks in a double-OT win. With Arron Afflalo listed as day-to-day with an ankle sprain he suffered during the Friday night matchup at Amway Center, Oladipo may get the chance to be more of an offensive focal point this evening at the ACC. This is why it will be important for the Raptor guards and wing players to force Oladipo to make some errors. Toronto’s defenders need to apply some pressure and communicate with their bigs in case Oladipo is able to slash his way into the paint.
Better Start:
It seems as if this particular key to the game is becoming a staple for the Toronto Raptors. The thing is, it has actually been an issue for the past few games. Simply put, Toronto needs better starts so that they won’t need to play catch-up later on in the game. Right now, Orlando’s record away from home is an atrocious 3-25 (seriously, it’s that bad). There is no reason to give them confidence early on in the game with turnovers and poor shot selection.
X-Factor – DeMar DeRozan
During Friday’s game, DeMar DeRozan wasn’t able to hit the shots he usually makes. Some of his misses definitely have to be accredited to the defense of Luol Deng. Fortunately for the Toronto Raptors today, Deng doesn’t play for Orlando. In this matchup versus the inexperienced Magic (possibly without the solid defense of Arron Afflalo), DeRozan will have the chance to redeem himself.
If the shots aren’t falling right away, expect him to attack the basket to draw fouls until he finds his rhythm. Also, it should be fascinating to observe if/how he contributes on the defensive side of things when it comes to slowing down Oladipo and the other Magic wing players.
