The Toronto Raptors are in the midst of the NBA’s toughest possible two-night stretch.
Coming off a dramatic 121-117 road loss to the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers last night, the Raptors flew home and will face the juggernaut Golden State Warriors at Air Canada Centre tonight.
“The computer that spit out the schedule, I’m going to find it and break it,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey joked to reporters.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Listen to Raptors vs. Warriors on Sportsnet 590 The Fan with tipoff at 8:00 p.m. ET
Considering the heartbreaking nature of the loss to the Cavs, Wednesday’s contest against the Warriors should just be considered a throwaway game, right?
“No. This Raptors team is a different Raptors team than we’ve seen in the past,” Sportsnet NBA analyst Alvin Williams told Dean Blundell & Co. Wednesday morning. “These guys for the past couple years, two or three years, they believe they can win and they have the players, they have the leadership that’s going to get the team riled up to play. Golden State coming in, the crowd is going to be jacked up.
“This is a testing. These past two games are a testing when you mark yourself with the elite. Playing against Cleveland last night and playing against Golden State tonight, you’re playing against two of the best teams in the NBA. The Raptors want to be mentioned in the same breath, so they’re going to be playing [hard] and they play Golden State tough every time whether it’s on the road or at home, so it’s going to be a good game for the Raptors.”
The Raptors are 15-24 all-time against Golden State but the Warriors have won four in a row — and 11 of 13 overall against Toronto since Stephen Curry entered the league.
Casey said split-second mistakes and poor switches cost them against the Cavs. Those are errors they have to limit against the Warriors.
The Raptors also had plenty of calls go against them. They finished with seven more fouls than Cleveland, including a questionable technical on Kyle Lowry. Going up against a star-studded team like the Warriors, it wouldn’t be surprising if Curry and company got some favourable calls.
“It’s tough because it’s an understanding the superstar players are going to get the benefit of the doubt for the most part…mainly because they’re always going to have the ball in their hands, they’re always going to be part of the play and they’re always going to be aggressive,” Williams said. “As an opponent you really just have to focus and understand that’s the way the game is going to be and try not to put yourself in those situations especially at the later parts of the game where the referee can make a decision [that could change the outcome].”
The Warriors are looking to extend their current winning streak to five games, while the Raptors aim to avoid their first two-game losing streak of the season.
