Brooklyn Nets vs. Toronto Raptors preview: Preseason finale

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Three down, one to go. The Brooklyn Nets concluded a successful trip to China with a 111-109 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. The team has gotten some much needed rest the past few days thanks

to all that travel, and will look to speed through the preseason finale before the real games begin.

The opponent tonight is looking to do some good things this year. The Toronto Raptors have a lot of talent, and now it’s up to Darko Rajaković to put it all together. The team made a spirited last minute rally to get the game against the Boston Celtics into overtime on Wednesday, but ultimately fell two points short.

Where to follow the game

YES Network on TV. Gotham Sports on the app. Tip after 7:00 p.m. ET. Justin Shackil and Frank Isola have the call.

Injuries

No Haywood Highsmith. That’s it.

We’ll see if Gradey Dick and Collin Murray-Boyles play tonight.

The game

Y’all know the rules for last game of the preseason: Nobody get hurt! We’re at the last game of the slate and starting next week, the games count for real. Make it out of this in one piece and we can get to everything else.

We’ll get to see how the Raptors try to clean some of their spacing issues up after some particularly rough moments on Wednesday night

We’ll see how the team incorporates Brandon Ingram throughout the season. He was traded to Toronto from New Orleans, but was out injured so he never suited up for them. Now that he’s back and fully healthy, we’ll see how he is utilized. BI is averaging 20 points a game in preseason and shooting a sparkling 60 percent from three point range. The challenge has always been getting Ingram to take more three pointers, and if the Raps want to have as much space as possible on offense, they’re going to need him to let it fly from deep early and often.

For the Nets, tonight will be one more opportunity for Ben Saraf to put some good tape out there. The rook has had plenty of good moments in the preseason, and his ability to manage games has been a big positive so far. There are still concerns about his jump shot, but his drives have been able to withstand those questions. From our very own Lucas Kaplan:

That sentiment right there is why Saraf may just start on Opening Night for the Brooklyn Nets, and why he may see very few minutes in Long Island this season, compared with his draft classmates. Missing jumpers is one thing, but as long as he takes them (no immediate guarantee), Saraf shouldn’t be such a terrible shooter that the offenses collapses around him. There will be moments of struggle, but he is a strong, physical driver who generally knows where the ball should go. On this Nets team, that’s enough to play on day one.

This year is all about growth, and if Saraf develops into a solid NBA player by the end of this season, then this year will be a success.

Player to watch: Egor Demin

Time for the Nets top draft pick to make his preseason debut! He’s been out with a foot injury and has been working his way back. With this being his first on-court action in a while, we’ll see how long he’ll be out there. Jordi Fernandez mentioned that he’ll see “some minutes,” but don’t expect him to take on a full regular season workload tonight. The objective is to make it out healthy and get his feet wet against starters and rotation players.

Immanuel Quickley is someone always looking to get downhill, and that’s going to be a key aspect of Toronto’s attack. He’s one of the faster guards in the league and someone that was one of the league leaders in drives. He’s a big part of Toronto’s future and a good season could help get Toronto get back into the playoffs.