We’re finally coming to the point in the season where you can actually draw a few conclusions from a teams record and performance.  Well, except for the Pelicans, since we haven’t actually seen half of their projected key players on the court together.  The Raptors, on the other hand, have played a good cross section of the league, with games against Miami, OKC, and Dallas mixed in with gimmes against New York and Philly.

So far, their roster changes have produced what the team was hoping – by maintaining their top 10 offense and improving a bottom 10 defense to a respectable 12th. (Hey, that sounds familiar!)

On the perimeter, however, their defense may be a little less robust for this game, as it is likely Carroll and Ross will not be playing.  Awww, must be hard to deal all with those injuries.

Anthony Davis remains questionable for the game.  Pondexter, Evans, Cole, and Perkins remain out.

Keys to the Game:

• Limit fouling.  The Raptors have been drawing an absurd 31 free throws a game.  Outside of Jonas Valanciunas, who gets few touches, the team doesn’t shoot well.  If the Pels can use their bigs to contain without fouling like crazy, the Raptors will struggle to score efficiently.
• If the Pelicans go small, they will die on the boards.  The Raptors are the 4th best offensive rebounding team.  Valanciunas, Biyombo and Scola are all skilled at snagging misses.  If the Pels are going to deploy Cunningham or Babbitt at the 4 and play Anderson at the 5 for long minutes, the whole team is going to have to gang-rebound.
• Let fly from three.  Outside of Boston (and their 28% shooting from there), the Raptors have not yet faced a high-volume three point shooting team.  See if they can handle it without also opening driving lanes.

Enjoy the game!