We’re back for NBA Matchups! Most of these teams haven’t played in a week, so there wasn’t really much of a point on going quote hunting from the coaches. I’ll have those back next week, though.
Toronto Raptors (front end) at Charlotte Hornets
Team Totals: Raptors 114.3, Hornets 111.8)
Injury Report: OG Anunoby (O, finger; NOOOOOOOO!), Fred VanVleet (Q, knee), Jalen McDaniels (D, ankle), Cody Martin (P, Achilles), Gordon Hayward (O, ankle)
Raptors projected starters: Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, Khem Birch
Hornets projected starters: LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Miles Bridges, P.J. Washington, Mason Plumlee (Note: Could be Cody, but no OG probably changes that)
Stats and Notes:
UPDATE: The OG news changes so much, so I had to delete most of the stuff here!
*The Raptors and Hornets were both playing excellent defense before the break as top-10 units overall and in the halfcourt. The Raptors are actually playing extremely slow at 28th in O pace in 2022, but of course the Hornets’ style could speed them up with their third-ranked 13.9 seconds per possession. With what should be some tight rotations and these teams turning it up a ton with top-four transition frequency in 2020 (top four in efficiency, too!), this should be fun.
*Gary Trent Jr. has really smashed in this matchup with a team-high 28.0 points per game (FVV did miss one; still scored 24 in the FVV game). The Hornets will likely put LaMelo on him again to make it a plus matchup. I still probably can’t do it unless FVV sits.
*FVV should be good to go here after dealing with a couple nagging injuries leading up to the break. He’ll likely get a matchup against Terry Rozier (it might be Cody Martin), which has been a favorable one at times for the elite scoring guards. Still, it’s a dicey play with the Raptors giving FVV the day off yesterday.
*The Hornets have been putting Miles Bridges on Siakam lately, which is a matchup Siakam should be able to exploit. A limited FVV should set up even better for Siakam, and the Hornets are bleeding points at the rim with a 25th-ranked 36.7% frequency in February. Siakam has been among the league leaders in drives lately at 18.3 per game over the last four (only Luka, Garland, Dejounte ahead of him among guys to play in 75+% of last four), so we like the aggressiveness (sure, some of that is because of no FVV, but still a massive number). Expect Siakam to start his second half on a high note.
*Even as the Siakam primary defender, Miles Bridges has still been the lead dog on the offensive side for the Hornets in this matchup. He’s got a shot at 40 minutes, and the rim protection from the Raptors has slipped a little bit. His floor is extremely safe and he’ll offer some big upside if the 3-pointers are dropping.
*LaMelo hasn’t fared well against this Raptors defense, which makes sense given how younger PGs have generally struggled. I probably wouldn’t go there today.
*Cody Martin’s return is interesting, and he might be thrown in the starting lineup to get the FVV assignment.
Oklahoma City Thunder (back end) at Indiana Pacers
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