Gameday: Suns @ Raptors, March 13th

The Toronto Raptors will host the Phoenix Suns tonight, as they play their first game against another Western Conference team this season. Toronto has only won 4 out of their last 10 games which has caused them to fall down to the 7th seed and into the Eastern Conference play-in. A win tonight against a hampered Suns team would go a long way in aiding Toronto’s climb back up the standings. Phoenix is a very talented team, even without the services of Dillon Brooks, so Toronto has to be careful if they want to get their bearings back.

Raptors Outlook

Record: 36-29 | 7th in Eastern Conference
Offensive Rating: 113.6 (20th) | Defensive Rating: 112.0 (6th) | Net Rating: +1.5 (12th)

Scottie Barnes is questionable with an illness tonight, so it remains to be seen if he will suit up. Like all 30 NBA teams, Toronto looks much worse without their best player, and their chances of winning drastically decrease without Barnes. Phoenix’s defensive scheme will also be a headache for Brandon Ingram as well. Phoenix’s defense is built upon help defense, they swarm to the ball, fill and replace defenders on those subsequent passes, and just try to overwhelm teams. Ingram struggles with reacting to multiple defenders coming at him, and that method is Phoenix’s bread and butter, so Toronto needs Ingram to make quicker decisions tonight and actually turn these looks into advantages.

Without Dillon Brooks they are missing their best defender, so when there is the opportunity to go one on one, they will have a better shot at it, but their defensive principles are still built in. RJ Barrett has begun to look better in recent games, and Toronto will need a big scoring punch from him tonight, and he will have ample opportunity to attack tilted defenses, get ownhill, and finish at the rim. 

Suns Outlook

Record: 39-27 | 7th in Western Conference
Offensive Rating: 114.0 (18th) | Defensive Rating: 112.6 (9th) | Net Rating: +1.4 (14th) 

Phoenix won’t have Brooks tonight, and they may not have another one of their top scorers in Grayson Allen either. They still have their top scorer, Devin Booker, who is also their lead playmaker, and he has the skillset to be a headache for Toronto tonight. Booker is a wonderful pick n’ roll operator, who can score out of it with off the dribble jumpers, as well as find the open man if anyone dares to help. Booker leads the Suns in points per game with 25.3 and assists per game at 6.1. Collin Gillepsie is an elite shooter who can burn Toronto if they do not stick with him closely. 

Jalen Green is somewhat of a wildcard for Phoenix, his overall stats are wildly inefficient, and he is a volume shooter, but on some nights when he gets hot, he can really hurt defenses. Green hasn’t scored less than 24 points in his last four games, but in the handful of games before then he had multiple games under 15 points. Toronto can not afford to let Green have a high scoring night, and as long as they do not let him get to the rim unimpeded, his shooting will not be enough to propel him to a hot night.

Game Info

Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m. ET

Television: Sportsnet

Venue: Scotiabank Arena

Starting Lineups (Projected)

Phoenix Suns

PG: Collin Gillepsie 

SG: Jalen Green 

SF:Devin Booker 

PF: Royce O’Neal

C: Oso Ighodaro

Toronto Raptors

PG: Immanuel Quickley

SG: RJ Barrett

SF: Brandon Ingram

PF: Scottie Barnes

C: Jakob Poeltl

Injury Report

Toronto Raptors

Collin Murray-Boyles (Thumb) – Questionable

Scottie Barnes (Illness) – Questionable

Phoenix Suns

Dillon Brooks (Hand) – Out

Grayson Allen (Knee) – Questionable

Mark Williams (Foot) – Out

Team	Spread	Money	Total
Toronto Raptors	-4.5 (–115)	-186	O 218.5 (-115)
Phoenix Suns	+4.5 (-105)	+155	U 218.5 (-105)

Odds as of Mar.13th, 12:00 a.m. ET

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