The previous encounter went down-the-wire and ended in favour of the San Antonio Spurs. Can the defending champs exact revenge?
HOME TEAM: San Antonio Spurs (20-24, 12-11 at home)
The Spurs had their three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday by the Phoenix Suns, 103-99. The offense was bland, the outside shots weren’t falling (5-for-25 from three) and they failed to crack the century mark for the first time in 14 games.
DeMar DeRozan loves playing against his old team and he’s been on an efficient stretch for over a month now, so look for him to take center stage. He’s the lone entertaining piece on the roster as of late, posting 25.9 points on 60.2%-shooting in his last 17 games.
LaMarcus Aldridge will be a tough call as he is tallying 23.6 PPG in his last five outings but could only muster 11 points in the first meeting with the Raptors. That said game saw Rudy Gay and Derrick White came off the bench to chip in 15 and 13 points, respectively, and they might come out to contribute nicely again.
ROAD TEAM: Toronto Raptors (31-14, 15-7 on the road)
The Raptors have not lost ever since that nail-biting 105-104 defeat against the San Antonio Spurs last week. They have put together six-straight wins, thanks to great play on both ends. Along with scoring 123.2 points over that span, the defense is also forcing opponents to commit 18.5 turnovers per game.
The offense is simply clicking as four different players are averaging 17 PPG in the last two weeks, and two more are over 12 PPG. The younger pieces are shining the most, with Fred VanVleet posting 21.8 PPG, 5 APG, and 2.3 SPG, and Norman Powell netting 21.7 on 58.1%-shooting.
Kyle Lowry (17.7 PPG, 6.7 APG) and Pascal Siakam (17.3 PPG), two of the more established guys on the roster, are right behind VanVleet and Powell in that same stretch.
PREDICTION:
The Raptors split the season series with a 118-109 win. We should see them try to outrun the defense at every turn (17.8 fastbreak points per game, 2nd) and prove they can outlast the Spurs through the bevy of weapons.
