Barnes vs. Mobley just one of the storylines to watch in high-stakes Raptors-Cavs matchup

Plenty is at stake as the Toronto Raptors season winds down and the playoff race heats up, with multiple issues coming to the fore as the Cleveland Cavaliers arrive at Scotiabank Arena for the final meeting Thursday between two of the Eastern Conference’s most pleasant surprises this season.

The main thing remains the main thing: Both the seventh-place Raptors and the sixth-place Cavaliers would love to avoid the play-in tournament reserved for teams that finish 7-through-10 in their respective conferences at the conclusion of the regular season on April 9.

Not unrelated is the race between each team’s respective first-year standouts for rookie of the year, with the Raptors' Scottie Barnes and the Cavs' Evan Mobley emerging as the narrow co-favourites in a remarkably deep field.

For the teams, a sixth-place finish guarantees a first round, best-of-7 playoff series, while the play-in tournament means the season could end quickly.

A play-in refresher: The seventh- and eighth-place teams at the end of regular season meet on the homecourt of the higher seed for one game, with the winner earning the seventh seed and advancing to play the second-place finisher in the East. The loser then hosts the winner of a game between the ninth- and 10th-place teams. The winner of that game advances to play the first-place team in the conference. If the Raptors fail to advance out of the play-in tournament, their season would be over.

For Barnes and Mobley, how their teams finish could well be the element that tips the balance in an awards race that is too tight to call, and will also be influenced by the play of the Detroit Pistons' Cade Cunningham, who has shown himself worthy of being the No. 1 pick last summer – Mobley was third and Barnes, fourth – though the Pistons' standing in the draft lottery could hurt his cause in the rookie-of-the-year voting.

The Raptors and Barnes have their work cut out for them.

The Cavaliers have both a one-game lead on Toronto in the standings and hold the head-to-head tie-breaker, thanks to their 3-0 record against the Raptors. The difference between the teams is much tighter than the head-to-head record suggests. That mark hinges on a game-winning basket by Justin Champagnie being waved off by milliseconds on Nov. 5 at Scotiabank Arena and the Raptors getting blown out in Cleveland on Dec. 26, when their entire rotation was sidelined by COVID and they played with four players on 10-day contracts who joined the team the day of the game.

So, if the Raptors want to finish sixth, they’ll need to pick up two games on the Cavaliers with 10 left to play. In all likelihood, it will have to start on Thursday night – it’s a lot easier to make up one game in nine rather than three.

No one’s calling it a must-win, though:

“I don't see it as vital (to get the sixth seed),” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse told reporters after his road-weary team practice at home for the first time in nearly two months. “I really hope this team gets in the playoffs. I really think we need to experience that. Like a series, the prep, and the toughness and all that stuff that I think it'd be really big building block for this team to be able to go through that ... however we get to it.”

The game will be the third final meeting between the two star rookies (Barnes missed the Dec. 26 meeting with COVID) and, predictably, the matchups are close.

In addition to his team winning both games Barnes played in, Mobley has slightly better numbers across the board, but not so much better that a big game by Barnes in the rubber match couldn’t change that.

And the Raptors could certainly use a big game from Barnes as injuries threaten to derail their post-season push – not that they will get any sympathy from Cleveland, which has lost two key players, Ricky Rubio and Colin Sexton, to season-ending injuries and is without All-Star centre Jarrett Allen, who broke his finger the last time the two teams met, on March 6.

Still, the Raptors will likely be without OG Anunoby, who hasn’t played since the All-Star break with a broken finger. Also listed as doubtful for Thursday is Gary Trent Jr., who sat out Monday night with sprained big toe and – while X-rays proved negative – was still quite sore and bothered by it on Wednesday. As well, Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet has been a shadow of himself since he took a knock to his knee – he is shooting just 34.8 per cent from the floor and 27.8 per cent from three while missing seven of Toronto’s 15 games, though he is expected to play. Second-year guard Malachi Flynn (hamstring) remains out.

After Pascal Siakam, Barnes has been the Raptors' most consistent player since the break, and arguably the league’s best rookie. He’s averaged 18.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists with a combined 2.4 steals and blocks on 53.3 per cent shooting, while Mobley is putting up 16.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists with 2.5 steals and blocks on 51.1 per cent shooting.

Rookie-of-the-year material?

“One hundred per cent; 100 per cent he should (win it),” said Nurse. “Who else is it? Who else is in the race? I’m certainly going to vote for my own player if I’m given a vote (it is voted on by the media).

“I think Scottie’s played great (but) I think it’s a helluva race,” said Nurse. “Mobley’s been unbelievable, I think Scottie’s been as unbelievable, especially lately. He’s been a real force. I think it’s probably a big deal a long time from now, right?

“As you know, my concern is that he keeps playing tough and aggressive and getting attempts, and playing a lot of minutes and gets more and more experience as it goes here. I think it’s been a helluva year for him and a long way to go yet.”

The Raptors obviously have their teammates’ back, but having played three times against Mobley, recognize why the competition for rookie of the year is so tight.

“I obviously want rookie of the year to be Scottie,” Siakam told reporters Wednesday. “ … but it's great, I think is awesome to see (their) games evolving, and those guys, they've had great seasons and obviously Scottie and Evan … and how those guys can kind of like do everything, they can play defence, they can score, and they can do anything it in different ways, so it’s really dope, it’s really dope to see.”

The best part about watching Barnes and Mobley (and Cunningham) battle it out for rookie of the year is that it’s just the start of something. It’s not hard to imagine the three 20-year-olds helping their teams battle for the top spot in the East for a decade or maybe more.

But for Barnes and Mobley – at least for now – helping their respective clubs get to sixth place by April 9 is a worthy goal and one that could win one or the other the edge in the battle for recognition as the NBA’s best rookie.