The Houston Rockets are in Toronto on Friday to face the Raptors in a battle of the East and West’s best so far this season.
In December, the Raptors posted arguably their biggest win of the season in Houston, a 129-113 drubbing against the Rockets. Chris Paul did not play in that game, and some stellar defence from rookie OG Anunoby helped force James Harden, the MVP favourite, into an off-night. But with the Rockets clicking on all cylinders the task will be far tougher this time around for the Raptors, who are coming off a pair of close wins against Detroit and Atlanta – teams they should have had no trouble thumping.
The Raptors will be without Anunoby and Delon Wright, who is out with a sprained big toe on his right foot. For the Rockets, Ryan Anderson and Brandon Wright are sidelined, while centre Clint Capela and veteran Joe Johnson are both “probable.”
Friday’s game will undoubtedly be the Raptors’ biggest test this season, and one of the few they’ll enter as underdogs. Here’s a closer look at how the two teams match up.
Record
Raptors: 47-17 (1st in the East)
Rockets: 51-13 (1st in the West)
Current win streak
Raptors: Six games
Rockets: 17 games
Home/Away records
Raptors: 27-5 at home
Rockets: 26-7 on the road
Average margin of victory
Raptors: 8.6 points per game (2nd in NBA, tied with Golden State)
Rockets: 8.6 points per game (1st in NBA)
Offensive Rating
Raptors: 110.8 (4th in NBA)
Rockets: 113.5 (2nd in NBA)
Defensive Rating
Raptors: 102.5 (3rd in NBA)
Rockets: 104.4 (10th in NBA)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgGvHc-B0zM/?hl=en&taken-by=sportsnet
Blocks per game
Raptors: 6.1 (2nd in NBA)
Rockets: 4.6 (17th)
Assists per game
Raptors: 23.8 (7th in NBA)
Rockets: 21.8 (23rd in NBA)
Three-point attempts per game
Raptors: 32.8 (3rd in NBA)
Rockets: 42.4 (1st in NBA…by a lot)
Three-point percentage
Raptors: 35.3 per cent
Rockets: 36.7 per cent
Free-throw attempts per game
Raptors: 22.6 (12th in NBA)
Rockets: 26.0 (2nd in NBA)
Rebounds per game
Raptors: 43.5 (16th)
Rockets: 43.4 (17th)
Stat Leaders
Raptors: DeMar DeRozan (24.0 points per game, 12th in NBA), Jonas Valanciunas (8.3 rebounds per game, 21st in NBA), Kyle Lowry (6.6 assists per game, 12th in NBA), Lowry (1.2 steals per game, T-37th in NBA), Jakob Poeltl (1.3 blocks per game, T-16th).
Rockets: James Harden (30.9 points per game, 1st in NBA), Clint Capela (11.0 rebounds per game, 9th in NBA), Harden (8.9 assists per game, 3rd in NBA), Harden (1.9 steals per game, T-5th in NBA), Capela (1.8 blocks per game, 6th in NBA).
X-Factors
Raptors: Bench production.
It’s been the Raptors’ biggest edge over opponents all season long. The Raptors bench has tremendous chemistry, a versatile skill-set and are incredibly active, helping to either extend leads or pick up the slack when the starters are struggling.
The second-unit advantage will be mitigated some against the Rockets, who most often have at least one of Harden or Paul on the floor, but the group of Fred VanVleet, C.J. Miles, Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl should thrive against a high-octane team like Houston. They’ll be without Wright, a key facilitator among that group, but there is still enough talent on the floor that the Raptors deep unit of unsung heroes won’t skip a beat.
Rockets: Three-point avalanche.
Houston is 33-4 when they hit 17 or more three-pointers. They’re 18-9 when they make less than 15. In the Raptors’ big win in Houston earlier this season, the Rockets hit just 12 threes.
Not to be overly simplistic, but whether or not the Rockets catch fire from deep will go a long way to determine if they’ll be beat. The Rockets are great at manufacturing three-point attempts, and unconscionable when it comes to letting it fly regardless of how well the perimeter is defended. The Raptors will have to be hyper-aware of defensive rotations and getting back in transition, and even then will, in part, have to hope the Rockets’ shooters have an off-night.
Marquee matchup
Battle of the backcourts
Between the Rockets’ starting backcourt of Paul and Harden and the Raptors’ DeRozan-Lowry duo, we’ll be watching two of the NBA’s top three backcourts facing off.
DeRozan has been playing at an MVP level, fresh off an extremely clutch 41-point performance, and Lowry has quietly been killing it, posting double-digit assist totals in four of his last nine, including a season-high 15 dimes in Toronto’s thrilling overtime victory in Detroit on Wednesday.
Harden and Paul both carve up defences and do a tremendous job alternating between getting buckets and setting up their teammates. The two combine to average 17 assists per game and, needless to say, have proven those who questioned if the pairing was a good fit when Houston traded for Paul last summer wrong.
The Rockets are 36-3 with both Paul and Harden in the lineup this season, and 21-1 since the start of the New Year.
Anunoby had the best game of his young career against Houston, playing stellar defence on Harden, staying in front of him and disrupting the MVP front-runner’s rhythm. But with the rookie out of the lineup, expect Norman Powell to get the Harden assignment — an opportunity for the struggling third-year guard to continue from where he left off after a solid bounce-back game versus the Pistons.
And although Harden’s defence has vastly improved this season, it’s more likely that somebody like Trevor Ariza draws DeRozan as a matchup, although both teams have plenty of chess pieces in place.
Key matchup
Jakob Poeltl vs. Clint Capela
Jonas Valanciunas will obviously get the start versus Capela, the ultra-bouncy centre who has been an absolute difference-maker under the basket for Houston on both ends of the floor, protecting the rim on defence and catching-and-converting lobs on the other end.
Needless to say, Capela, who is nursing a sore calf but is listed as probable is not an ideal matchup for Valanciunas, meaning we’ll likely see Poeltl tasked with containing the Swiss big man. Poeltl has the size and mobility to excel and whether or not he can disrupt Capela, who is in line for a monster payday this off-season, will be critical for the Raptors.
The Rockets and Raptors tip-off on Sportsnet ONE with coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
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