The Golden State Warriors are making their annual trip to Toronto for tonight’s battle against the Raptors, and with how Toronto has looked in their last few games, it’s hard to read what type of performance you’ll get from the Dinos. In one game they only managed to score 81 points against Brooklyn, then the next game they held Miami to 91 and score 112, then against a lowly team like Washington they allowed 138 points. Toronto is seemingly going through an identity-crisis game to game, and against a team like Golden State you need to be sure of who you are and what you can do.
For the first time in about a month, RJ Barrett’s injury status has been upgraded to questionable, so even if he doesn’t suit up tonight, Toronto can expect his return sooner rather than later.
Raptors Outlook
Record: 18-14 | 5th in Eastern Conference
Offensive Rating: 113.5 (20th) | Defensive Rating: 112.5 (6th) | Net Rating: +1.0 (14th)
Golden State has a top 3 defense this season, and it is once again due to the defensive brilliance of Draymond Green, as well as just an overall well-designed defensive scheme. Jimmy Butler and Green are the focal points of Golden State’s defense, but even the subpar defenders on the Warriors make up for their faults by being good team defenders, meaning they know what space to fill and when, and they know how to quickly get out of unfavorable defensive matchups. The “scram switch” was coined as a result of Golden State’s ability to quickly get their weaker defenders such as Stephen Curry out of bad situations on that end and replacing him with a better defender.
In order for Toronto to break the shell of such a well-oiled defense they will need to attack those aforementioned weaker defenders with quickness and intent. You have to involve them in actions, but you can not let Golden State switch these actions with ease, or leave these switched matchups unpunished. Toronto has plenty of players capable of handling the ball to some degree, and they can not be shy about attacking these matchups. For example, if Green and Curry switch on a ball screen between Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes, or Quickley and Sandro Mamukelashvilli, the screener needs to immediately be given the ball, to attack Curry or whatever weaker defender is there. This can force help, or just give them a good matchup.
Warriors Outlook
Record: 16-15 | 8th in Eastern Conference
Offensive Rating: 113.5 (21st) | Defensive Rating: 111.0 (3rd) | Net Rating: +2.5 (9th)
Although Golden State does not have a statistically great offense, they have the ultimate equalizer in Curry. Curry is averaging 28.4 points per game while on 63.7 true-shooting, and 39 percent from three on a league-leading 12.2 attempts per game. Curry is shooting the most threes per game in his career this year and it has gone very well. It goes without saying that you need to stick to Curry, whether it be on off-ball actions or when he attacks off the dribble. Butler III is also having a nice scoring season at 19.7 points per game on 64.9 true-shooting, and his game is predicated on getting in the paint and getting to the free throw line as well.
Outside of these two, Golden State does not have worrisome offensive threats, and their depth is also lacking as well. Golden State is also a fairly small team a lot of the time, often running many lineups without a true center in which should mitigate the absence of Jakob Poeltl for Toronto.
Game Info
Tip-Off: 3:30 p.m. ET
Television: Sportsnet
Venue: Scotiabank Arena
Starting Lineups (Projected)
Golden State Warriors
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Brandon Podziemski
SF: Jimmy Butler III
PF: Draymond Green
C: Quinten Post
Toronto Raptors
PG: Immanuel Quickley
SG: Ochai Agbaji
SF: Brandon Ingram
PF: Scottie Barnes
C: Sandro Mamukelashvilli
Injury Report
Toronto Raptors
RJ Barrett (Knee) – Questionable
Jakob Poeltl (Back) – Out
Collin Murray-Boyles (Illness) – Questionable
Golden State Warriors
De’Anthony Melton (Knee) – Out
Seth Curry (Glute) – Out
TeamSpreadMoneyTotalToronto Raptors+4.5 (–115)+150O 224.5 (-115)Golden State Warriors-5.5 (-105)-181U 224.5 (-105)
Odds as of Dec.28, 12:00 a.m. ET
PRESENTED BY VIVID SEATS
