Starting with their game against the Hornets on Sunday afternoon, the Toronto Raptors cannot afford any mistakes if they want to participate in the NBA’s play-in tournament.
Before losing their most recent games, both teams had been on three-game winning streaks. The Raptors are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, four games ahead of the 11th-place Washington Wizards, despite both teams finishing last in their respective divisions in the Eastern Conference.
One is the Raptors’ magic number for securing a play-in spot. The Hornets (26-52) are out of playoff contention.
The Raptors lost Friday night’s 117-110 choice at Philadelphia regardless of forward Scottie Barnes pouring in 29 focuses on 13-for-19 shooting from the field.
Maintaining focus as Toronto tries to secure a play-in spot and gain momentum heading into the tournament will be crucial.
Friday, Nurse announced that he would evaluate his plans to “take a few weeks and see where I am” regarding his future.
The Raptors will be interested to see if that serves as a motivator or a distraction.
The Hornets suffered an early setback, falling 121-91 to the Chicago Bulls at home on Friday.
James Bouknight scored a season-high 22 focuses behind 6-of-11 shooting from the 3-point line.
Chicago scored 29 focuses off Charlotte’s 22 turnovers. Given the Raptors’ persistent nature, this is a particular cause for concern.
The number of injured Charlotte athletes has increased. P.J. Washington, who has a sprained right foot, joins LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre Jr., Gordon Hayward, and Dennis Smith Jr. on that list. It’s possible that rookie center Mark Williams, who has started 14 of his 40 games and just recovered from a thumb injury, will be the only available player for the Hornets to start on Sunday.
In the Philadelphia matchup, Barnes became Toronto’s leading scorer for the first time in nine games. In two previous encounters with Charlotte earlier this season, he scored 21 and seven points, respectively.
Tuesday night’s matchup will take place in the same arena.
The Raptors and Hornets additionally played consecutive games with one in the middle of between in January in Toronto, where the Raptors won by scores of 132-120 and 124-114. Pascal Siakam was the top scorer in both of those games for Toronto with 28 and 35 places.
Because Rozier had 33 points and Ball had 32, the Hornets’ leading scorers in those games, Charlotte will need to find new ways to score.
