3 things to watch for as Raptors face Warriors on Sportsnet

Look on the bright side, at least it’s April now.

That’s got to be the attitude the Toronto Raptors are approaching this new month with after a disastrous 1-13 March.

Oddly enough, however, despite the free fall Toronto’s been in all month long, this is a team that isn’t completely out of the playoff picture as the club is still just two games back of the Chicago Bulls for 10th place in the Eastern Conference and the final spot in the East’s play-in tournament.

So while the Raptors are understandably upset — and have been beaten down by the month and disappointing season as a whole — if they’re serious about turning things around they can’t afford to allow themselves to feel sorry for themselves for much longer.

An opportunity to make the playoffs is still there.

So, even though it sounds like a broken record at this point, they’ll get another shot to try to turn things around for themselves somewhat Friday evening with a matchup against the Golden State Warriors at 7 p.m. ET on Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet East and Sportsnet ONE.

A new month could mean new possibilities for the Raptors and they could get off on the right foot by taking advantage of a Warriors team that’s playing on the second night of a back-to-back and will be without superstar Steph Curry.

Here’s a look at three things to watch for in Friday night’s tilt.

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They’re not trying to tank, but if they keep trending this way…

As much as the tank jokes are flying around on Raptors Twitter — probably as a coping mechanism — the reality is the Raptors aren’t trying to tank and were never really trying to tank.

This is why they were so steadfast on the return for Kyle Lowry at the trade deadline. Unless they were getting back a truly impactful player and/or prospect (like Tyler Herro) back in return they were always comfortable with keeping Lowry for the stretch run of the season and then seeing what happens in the off-season.

The team definitely wasn’t expecting to be this poor this late in the season but, as mentioned before, the baseline goal of making the playoffs is still on the table so if they can turn things around they’ll be meeting their initial mission.

On the other hand, though, if they continue to disappoint, lose a few more times in April and are unable to make up ground then, in a way, that’s fine, too.

If you’re going to inadvertently tank, then this season isn’t a bad one to do so as the top 10 of the draft this year is laden with talent with the top five looking like players all with legitimate all-star potential. At the moment the Raptors have the seventh-best odds at landing the No. 1 overall pick, according to Tankathon, and those odds could improve as time goes on.

So a good way to think of this season is that no matter what happens with the Raptors it’s almost like they’re playing with house money. If they go on a run and make the play-in tournament or playoffs proper, that’s great because that was what they were expected to do in the first place. If things remain as they are now, however, that’s fine, too, because there’s a chance the Raptors could land a real star in the draft that way.

Draymond Green ain’t about that play-in tournament life

The Golden State Warriors are currently in 10th place in the Western Conference, holding down the final play-in spot in the West.

They enter Friday with just a one-game lead over the Sacramento Kings, but despite having a team nipping at their heels, there doesn’t seem to be much motivation from one key Warrior to really push and hold off the Kings.

“To be honest with you, I don’t go into these games thinking like, ‘Man, we need to win these games to get to the playoffs,'” said Draymond Green after the Warriors’ Thursday-night loss to the Miami Heat. “I hate [expletive] losing, so when I step on the floor I want to win. But I’ll be 100 per cent honest with you, fighting for a play-in spot does not motivate me. We’re in what, [10th]? Fighting for a [play-in] spot doesn’t motivate me at all.”

So, between Golden State playing in back-to-back games, no Curry and this apparent laissez-faire attitude shown from Green about his team’s direction this season, this could be a prime opportunity for the Raptors to get back to playing some winning basketball.

Injury report

A major story of the Raptors’ season has been how banged up they’ve been and how impacted they’ve been by COVID-19 protocols.

And unfortunately for the team, that storyline will persist coming into Friday’s game as Lowry (right foot infection), Jalen Harris (right hip pointer), Rodney Hood (right hip soreness), Patrick McCaw (left knee swelling) and Paul Watson (health and safety protocols) will all miss the contest.

In some good news, it looks like DeAndre’ Bembry might be returning to the lineup after missing the last four games in COVID-19 protocols as he wasn’t listed on the latest injury report.

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