Despite the Toronto Raptors’ East-leading 22-7 record, there is still much skepticism surrounding the club because of its soft schedule to start the season.
Against teams below .500 Toronto is an excellent 16-2, but is only 6-5 against teams that are .500 and above.
As such, this upcoming Western Conference road trip should prove informative and give us all a real sense of how good the Raptors actually are.
Playing five games over nine days beginning on Dec. 27, the Raptors will see the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns.
Of the five teams Toronto will encounter, three of them can be considered top-10 clubs in the NBA (Warriors, Blazers and Clippers), meaning finishing the trip at 2-3 should be considered a victory with the very real possibility that the Raptors could fail to get any of the games.
Here are five storylines to monitor while you take in the games.
Programming Alert: Watch the entire Western Conference road trip on Sportsnet live. Check out the broadcast schedule for more details.
The battle off the bench
The road trip will kick off with a bang against the Clippers in a matchup with no shortage of star power with the likes of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Kyle Lowry all in the same building.
As fun as it will be to see Paul and Lowry go head-to-head however, the real fireworks will be seen coming off the bench in a battle between two of the NBA’s premiere sixth-men in Lou Williams and Jamal Crawford.
The two guards are like mirror images of each other, able to get separation and fire any shot at-will because of their wiry strength and excellent ball-handling. Even their numbers are pretty much identical with Crawford scoring slightly more per game (16.1 to 14.6) in more minutes (26.7 to 23.0).
Williams and Crawford also share similarities in that both of their teams lean so heavily on them that the offence runs through them at times, making this matchup not only very enjoyable to watch, but potentially the key to the entire game.
The game they need to get
A quick look at the calendar and the game against the Nuggets jumps out as the one Toronto should get on this road trip. After all, the Nuggets are only 12-17, are banged up and appear to be in limbo about whether or not they want to blow everything up or make a big push for the playoffs.
All these factors indicate an easy Raptors win, right?
Not so much.
A closer look at the schedule shows that Toronto’s match with Denver is a back-to-back off the Clippers game, meaning the Raptors not only have to deal with the higher altitude of Denver, but also won’t be very rested. Two very dangerous factors against a team looking to run you out of the gym.
Damian Killer
When the Raptors head to Portland to play the Blazers the marquee matchup will be at point guard with Lowry taking on Damian Lillard.
Both players are fiercely competitive, pit bull-type players with a knack for feeling out big moments in games and delivering big shots in those times.
Lillard, in particular, is an exceptional player in the clutch, averaging 6.5 points per game in the fourth quarter.
The matchup against the Blazers in general will be very difficult as they can be counted on as one of the league’s truly elite teams, boasting the 10th ranked offence and fourth ranked defence in the entire league.
Should Lillard get going, particularly if the game’s on the line, the Raptors are in serious trouble. Few players in any sport have a killer instinct as cold-blooded as Lillard’s.
How do you wound the Warriors?
Even more daunting than the Blazers, however, will be Toronto’s matchup with the Warriors.
Golden State is unquestionably the best team in basketball, boasting a league-best record of 23-5 and the only team ranking in the top-five in both defensive rating (No. 1) and offensive rating (No. 5).
So then, how exactly do you beat a team with seemingly no weakness? A look at the Warriors’ personnel has the answer.
For as good as they are, particularly on the defensive end, the Warriors aren’t overly large and imposing – especially with starting centre Andrew Bogut out. This means the Dubs are susceptible to physical play, something Raptors coach Dwane Casey preaches on a daily basis to his team.
As evidenced by Golden State’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies and, to a lesser extent, the Los Angeles Lakers, being physical in the post, on drives to the basket and on the defensive end can disrupt the Warriors a little.
Players like Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas and James Johnson will be key as they naturally play a more rough-and-tumble brand of basketball.
Lowry, in particular, will need to get under the skin of Steph Curry – who is enjoying an MVP-calibre season – by bumping him and getting into his air space in order to stop the deadeye shooter from unleashing bombs all over the court.
The Raptors are capable of dethroning the league’s best, the question remains if they’re able to execute on their potential.
Repeat performance for JV?
The last time the Raptors played the Suns, Jonas Valanciunas destroyed their front line, putting up a career-high 27 points on 10-for-11 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds.
Can he come close or even repeat his dominating performace in Phoenix?
Why not?
Nothing has changed in Phoneix’s front court since the last time the two teams met, meaning Valanciunas will still be dealing with a combination of Miles Plumlee, Marcus and Markieff Morris and Alex Len.
Not exactly the most intimidating collection of big men in the league.