The Rap-Up: The kids go on a Western road trip

The Raptors embark on a season-long 5-game road trip that doubles as the season finales against 3 Western foes they just faced last week.

For the second consecutive week, the Toronto Raptors face the Denver Nuggets on a Monday night. For the second consecutive week, the Raptors also face the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers. At this rate, I’ll be getting more Halloween candy from my kids!

It’s hard to argue with how the Raptors have performed so far this season. There have been positive contributions up and down the roster (at least from the healthy bodies). RJ Barrett scored at least 30 points in 3 consecutive games last week — the first time he’s done that in his career. Gradey Dick set career-high scoring marks, not once, not twice, but THREE times last week! Ochai Agbaji looks just as good on the court as he does off it (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Scottie Barnes may be out for the next three weeks or more, but before being injured by Nikola Jokic (with no foul called, I’m not still bitter) he was putting up similar numbers as last year’s All-Star campaign. Jakob Poeltl has been the most irreplaceable player on this roster. Full stop.

We’re only approaching the 10% mark of the season but the Raptors are perfectly toeing the line between showing considerable development while also increasing draft lottery chances with losses. After getting drubbed by the Cavaliers (currently 8-0 by the way) in the season opener, the Raptors have been competitive in each game since!

It’s the second week of November, the Raptors have 2 wins.......and I couldn’t be happier with how things have gone so far! What a time to be a Raptors fan!

November 4 @ Denver Nuggets

By the time this is published, this game will have already been completed so I’ll replace the pre-game analysis with leftover thoughts from last Monday’s home loss to the Nuggets.

• How was Jokic not called for a foul?
• The Raptors need to practice their free throws! Poeltl has a better FT percentage than RJ Barrett, Ochai Agbaji, and Davion Mitchell. While that mostly speaks to Jak’s improvement, it’s also a discouraging stat for 3 key rotation players.
• Did Barnes need to draw blood before a foul was called?
• Denver’s bench is looking as hopeless as Toronto’s bench looked last season (so maybe there’s hope?)
• Seriously. If it was anyone other than the reigning MVP, or any time other than the final minute of tight game, would Jokic be called for a foul?

Fun fact that may only interest me

Christian Braun, one of only five players in history to win NCAA and NBA titles in consecutive years, launched his own clothing line, CB2. I like the name because it proves he’s only half as good as Chris Bosh (CB4).

Prediction

I tried to be accountable but the karma gods would not oblige as the Raptors lost AND didn’t cover.

November 6 @ Sacramento Kings

The Kings return home after a 4-game road trip and face the only team that managed to hand Sacramento a road loss.

Domantas Sabonis leads the league in rebounds, after winning the rebounding title in each of the last two seasons. Malik Monk is looking to build on last season when he was robbed of an award and claim this year’s 6th Man of the Year award. DeMar DeRozan is looking to become the first* player to average 20 points for 4 different franchises.

*He is likely not the first, but my rudimentary research has only uncovered players who have accomplished this feat with 3 teams, at most. Please correct me in the comments.

Fun fact that may only interest me

It’s admittedly too early in the season, but the Sacramento Kings have been a below-average defensive team for the better part of two decades!

Currently, this team is ranked 11th in points per possession allowed. Over the last 20 seasons, there have been only one (2005-06) where the Kings were above average defensively. Leading the charge, surprisingly, is DeMar DeRozan!

Deebo is in the 89th percentile in steal percentage (steals per team play) and 98th percentile in foul percentage (fouls committed per team play). That’s an impressive combination of stats that show he’s collecting steals while not fouling.

Prediction

The other shoe has to drop for this scrappy group of Raptors at some point, right? Toronto has played much better than a 2-win team but they should come crashing back to Earth and start losing by double-digits with regularity, right?!? Missing Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley should catch up to this lottery-bound team, right???

Or maybe this team is just good and we all need to start accepting that! Raptors cover the +10.5 spread.

November 9 @ Los Angeles Clippers

Let me get this straight.

• Clippers front office refused to offer Paul George a 4th year to his contract offer, opening the door for Philadelphia to swoop in and sign PG to a 4-year max deal
• Before the season started, Kawhi Leonard was ruled out for an indefinite period of time as he continued dealing with knee inflammation
• Former Trainer, Randy Shelton, is suing the team for wrongful termination. He claims the team disregarded his advice and unsafely managed Kawhi’s return-to-play protocol. Shelton’s lawsuit also includes information about meetings the Clippers had with him, dating back to 2017 to track Kawhi’s rehab progress.

With the off-court noise being unpleasant and on-court product likely taking a dip, it’s a good thing the Clippers have.....oh, never mind, they still owe first-round picks to the Thunder for the George deal!

Fun fact that may only interest me

Prediction

The Raptors get an early look at the Clippers’ new home, the Intuit Dome. Despite George’s departure and Leonard’s absence, the Clippers still have a league leader in points (Norm Powell is 16th), assists (James Harden is 3rd), and rebounds (Ivica Zubac is 2nd).

Poeltl vs Zubac should be fun. Watching Powell and Harden try to score against Agbaji and Mitchell should also be fun. Los Angeles should be motivated to grab a win against an easy foe, while Toronto should be motivated to lose against another lottery team.....which means the opposite will happen. The Raptors cover the +6.5 spread.

November 10 @ Los Angeles Lakers

There’s never a shortage of drama in Tinseltown. The latest news surrounds Anthony Davis, the NBA’s leading scorer, who injured his foot during a loss to the lowly Pistons. As of this writing, there’s no word on the severity of the injury (he was able to finish the game) and if AD will miss time.

If he does have to sit out, the Lakers will be in a huge hole. The depth chart leaves plenty to the imagination. Jaxson Hayes is a draft retread who couldn’t get into New Orleans’ rotation. Christian Koloko has just been cleared to play after recovering from career-threatening blood clot issues. After Hayes and Koloko, the next tallest players on the roster are LeBron James and Rui Hachimura.

Considering this is the Lakers we’re talking about, don’t be surprised at all if/when you start reading names like Jonas Valanciunas and Jakob Poeltl in trade rumours!

Fun fact that may only interest me

Among the many records and awards James owns, I’m not sure if this one will ever be touched: 20 All-NBA selections.

Let’s put that in perspective:

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan have the next-most with 15 each
• LeBron has as many All-NBA selections as the Toronto Raptors (9), Charlotte Hornets (7), and Memphis Grizzlies (4) COMBINED
• The closest active players are Kevin Durant and Chris Paul, who each have 11

Prediction

The spread is going to vary greatly depending on Davis’ injury status. Let’s assume he’s out.

Notice how I only mentioned the spread, not the prediction being dependent on Davis. This Raptors squad has me drinking the Kool-Aid. I’ve seen enough to be overly optimistic and believe they can compete with almost any team. Raptors cover the +6.5 spread.

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Last Week’s Record: 1-3

Season Record: 2-5