Brooklyn Nets vs. Toronto Raptors game preview: mid-afternoon tankers’ delight

Detroit Pistons v Toronto Raptors — Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images

The Nets are sixth in lottery odds, 2 1⁄2 games ahead of the Raptors who are in seventh.

Here we are. With five more games left in the season, the Brooklyn Nets universe can finally take a breath as the end draws nearer and nearer. Sort of like the five stages of death: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. We’re somewhere between Nos. 4 and 5.

Despite all of the losses this season, it has been a fun ride for a number of reasons. And let’s look at the positives…. Brooklyn has a great coach that can be trusted in the long run, the core of young guys have potential, and the team plays hard, and that’s all you can really ask for … at this point. They proved that once again a couple of days ago against the Minnesota Timberwolves, despite taking a 105-90 loss.

This afternoon, the Nets will be taking on the Toronto Raptors in an early outing. As Lucas Kaplan put it, this will be an important game for the Nets in terms of draft lottery odds. Technically, things aren’t solidified yet. But a loss to the Raptors would pretty much mean the Nets will have the sixth best odds on May 12.

Where To Watch

Catch the action at 3:30 p.m. ET on WLNY (Channels 10/55).

Injury Report

For the Nets, Nic Claxton (rest), Noah Clowney (right ankle sprain), Cam Johnson (lower back contusion), D’Angelo Russell (right ankle soreness), and Day’Ron Sharpe (right knee sprain) will all be out. Cam Thomas and De’Anthony Melton are of course out as well.

For the Raptors, Immanuel Quickly (rest), Brandon Ingram (ankle), Gradey Dick (knee), Jacob Poeltl (rest), and Ulrich Chomche (MCL tear) will all be out. Scottie Barnes is listed as questionable.

The Game

This is second game between the Raptors and the Nets in the last two weeks. The Nets lost that game in a blowout. Brooklyn won the first game back in December and lost the second on New Year’s Day.

Just like the past few contests, this game will be a test to see how the young guys do. Dariq Whitehead will be leading the way going into the action, as he played like he was the second coming of Klay Thompson with the five threes he made against Minnesota (17 points in total). From a guy who’s been plagued with injuries the last couple of years, you love to see stuff like this. The 20-year-old is now shooting better than 40% from deep in his 14 NBA games.

Fan favorite Drew Timme won’t have much to prove either, as he has shown that he can play on an NBA floor purely based on how much he hustles and the soft touch he has around the rim. I’m curious on how Tyson Ettiene can perform with the lack of guards available this afternoon. He will get some looks off of some Keon Johnson drives.

The big news out of the game of course will be lottery odds. With only five games to go, even a win by Brooklyn is unlikely to affect their chances on May 12. They are 2 ¹⁄₂ behind Toronto.

Player to Watch

For the Raptors, they will be led by 6’5” rookie Ja’Kobe Walter who has been in double figures in six of the last eight games and is averaging close to 10 points a game for the season. Over that starting stretch he’s up to 13.9 points on 41/49/100. A highly touted player in high school and a star for Baylor, Walter can score in bunches when he wants. He won’t have much help, so he will be a weapon the Nets will have to key on.

RaptorsHQ’ Chelsea Leite wrote this of him Friday:

Despite starting the season with a shoulder injury, Ja’Kobe Walter seemed to make a good recovery. He has made some circus-level entertaining shots this season and hustled hard to prove his worth. As a first round draft pick, the expectation that Walter would get some solid playing time on a tanking team was pretty high, and he has stepped up.

Other than the youngins, this game will be for all the marbles, the draft. The college season has been great, so the goal from here will be to get the cream of the crop.

From the Vault

How things have changed! Back in 2014, the Nets and Raptors were rivals, contenders in the East. It was then that Toronto GM Masai Ujiri famously shouted “F— Brooklyn!” at a fan rally before Game 1.