When you eat an Oreo cookie, which part do you prefer? Are you like my wife and eat the cookies or do you want all the sugary goodness in the middle like me?
Whatever your choice (you’re hungry now), I may have to change mine. Temporarily.
The week ahead for the Raptors sees a pair of “cookie” matchups — the Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers have combined to lose 18 of their first 20 games — sandwiched around a not-so-sweet matchup in Cleveland.
If Toronto falls to either of Nets or Pacers, feel free
to blame me for jinxing the team. Also, if the Raptors beat the Cavs, I will also take credit for reverse-jinxing the team! Wait, did I just undo the reverse-jinxing by calling it out? My brain hurts. Somebody give me some Oreos.
November 11 @ Brooklyn Nets
Quick, name 5 Brooklyn Nets! Michael Porter Jr…….Nic Claxton…………..Cam Thomas……………………….does Jordi Fernandez count?
The Nets are tanking. Again. Last season, Brooklyn, like Toronto, tanked its way into the lottery and, again like their Atlantic Division rivals, were leapfrogged by a pair of Texas teams. The Raptors are clearly happy with who they drafted, as Collin Murray-Boyles has already established himself as a rotation player, is closing games, and looks like a future All-Defense mainstay.
For Brooklyn, Egor Demin is going through the motions of a rookie season. His turnover rate (19.3%) is one of the worst among Point Guards. Despite being taller than most at his position (6’8), Demin’s shot chart shows someone afraid of getting in the paint. Demin is in the 6th percentile in drawing shooting fouls, and 78%(!!) of his shots are from three. Fernandez inserted the rookie into the starting lineup over the last two games. With Cam Thomas out for the next 3-4 weeks, Demin will get some extra playing time to develop.
Porter Jr. deserves some credit with how he’s started his Nets career. After being traded from a championship contender in Denver to lottery-bound team in Brooklyn, no one would be surprised if Porter Jr. played hero-ball and drove up his counting stats. While he is shooting and scoring more than ever before (4.5 more FGA and 5.1 more points than last season), MPJs splits are still decent, 47/37/79. His assists have also ticked up to a career-high (yes, it’s only 2.6 assists but you try remember him ever passing as a Nugget).
Fun fact that may only interest me
Brooklyn is one of the 12 stops along Garrett Temple’s career. He is at least 10 years older than any other player on the Nets roster. (To be fair, he’s also 10 years older than every Raptor other than Jakob Poeltl) Temple has 15 years of experience and has played in 771 games.
Tyrese Martin spent the 2023-24 season entirely in the G League. This past November, he set a Nets franchise record for most points by a two-way player, as he lit up Phoenix for 30 points. In February, Martin’s two-way contract was converted to a standard contract.
Martin is the 3rd-oldest player on the Nets roster.
Prediction
The Raptors continue its 5-game road trip with a one-day rest advantage over the Nets. Brooklyn is winless at home with their only victory occurring last week in Indiana — where Toronto will play to wrap up this week’s games.
In addition to Thomas’ absence, Brooklyn will also be without Haywood Highsmith, who has yet to play this season. Day’ron Sharpe is questionable with a hamstring injury.
There really isn’t much to overthink about this matchup. Brooklyn has the worst defense in the league, giving up 125.5 points per game. The Nets rank 29th in shots allowed at the rim, 30th in corner threes allowed, and 30th in opponents’ 3-point FG%. Toronto should win this game but I’ll be cautious and predict Brooklyn covers the +10.5 spread.
November 13 @ Cleveland Cavaliers
When Toronto went into Cleveland two weeks ago and upset the Cavaliers, it was a rare scenario where neither city seemed to care. In Toronto, all eyes were glued to the Blue Jays, who were playing a possible World Series-clinching Game 6 (ahh damn, I’m crying again). Cleveland played the game without Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Sam Merrill, and Max Strus. This was probably the lowest-leverage game to ever kick off the NBA Cup schedule!
The fact that Toronto won the game was positive for multiple reasons. The Raptors halted a 4-game losing skid which certainly conjured up memories of the last season’s tankathon. Grabbing the first win (and subsequent win in Atlanta last week) put Toronto in the driver’s seat in NBA Cup Round Robin play. The Cavaliers are legitimate contenders to make the NBA Finals, so taking advantage while they are severely short-handed could be the only way to defeat them this season.
Donovan Mitchell is off to a hot start this season. He’s averaging more points (30.4), three-pointers (4.2), field goals (10.4), and PER (25.6) than ever before. After missing the one game against Toronto, Mitchell’s return to the lineup in the subsequent game kickstarted a four-game win streak for the Cavs. A streak that came to a thrilling end on Monday night.
Fun fact that may only interest me
Dean Wade: born in Wichita, Kansas on November 20th. Played all his high school and college basketball in the state of Kansas. Received high basketball honour (Mr. Kansas Basketball). Has only played for one team over his 7 NBA seasons.
Gradey Dick: born in Wichita, Kansas on November 20th. Played all his high school and college basketball in the state of Kansas. Received high basketball honour (Gatorade National Player of the Year). Has only played for one team over his 3 NBA seasons.
Prediction
The Raptors catch the Cavaliers on the back-end of a road-home back-to-back. It’s also the third game in four nights for Cleveland, after playing a double-header in Miami. During Monday’s loss to Miami, Garland may have reaggravated the toe injury that required surgery in the offseason and also kept him out for the first six games of the season.
Cleveland, however, will be looking to avenge the earlier loss to Toronto. Mitchell has had his way with the Raptors since OG Anunoby left the team. Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley should be difficult to handle, more than usual, with Poeltl’s back issues and Sandro Mamukelashvili dealing with a neck injury.
Statistically, the Raptors actually matchup quite well to the Cavaliers. Toronto ranks higher in halfcourt offense and on both ends in transition. Immanuel Quickley’s improved play of late should negate the need for another hero performance from Jamison Battle. Cleveland wins the rematch but Toronto covers the +6.5 spread.
November 15 @ Indiana Pacers
Quick, name the 5 starters in Indiana’s most recent game? I……won’t even try. Instead, here’s a list of who was injured:
- Pascal Siakam (Rest; 10th in minutes per game. Trust me, he needed the rest)
- TJ McConnell (Hamstring; could return this week)
- Johnny Furphy (Ankle; will miss at least one more week)
- Benedict Mathurin (Foot; week-to-week)
- Obi Toppin (Foot; out at least 3 months)
- Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles; crying emoji)
The Pacers have matched the worst start in franchise history. The unfortunate injury luck has led to 7 different starting lineups over the first 10 Indiana games — 9 of which were losses. It’s hard to say if the worst loss was to Brooklyn (the Nets’ only win of the season) or on Sunday in Golden State (with 9 players listed injured in a 34-point rout)….or if rock bottom still hasn’t been reached.
Indiana was literally one win away from the most improbable championship. Since winning Game 6 on June 19th, the Pacers have won one game. Hey, at least they look good!
Fun fact that may only interest me
Indiana has lowest eFG% in the NBA by a wide margin. The Pacers’ percentage (46%) is 3.6% percentage points worse than the 29th-ranked Utah Jazz (49.6%). That 3.6% margin is just as wide as the 1st-ranked Milwaukee Bucks (59.2%) and the 12th-ranked Phoenix Suns (55.6%).
The Pacers have 6 players averaging at least 50% shooting from the field. Three of those players are injured (Mathurin, Furphy, and Quenton Jackson), James Wiseman has only played one game, and Tony Bradley plays 13 minutes a game. Things are looking dire in Indiana.
Prediction
Surprise, surprise. The Indiana Pacers have the worst offense in the league! The Raptors’ defense should be delighted to finish off the five-game road trip against a short-handed team that doesn’t shoot well from any area of the floor (30th at the rim, 29th from three, and 28th from mid-range). Siakam matching up with Barnes should be fun to watch. Toronto wins and covers the -8.5 spread.
Last week: 2-1
Season record: 7-3
