Los Angeles Lakers at Toronto Raptors Preview
The Lakers will cross the northern border and head to Toronto to take on a hobbled Raptors team tonight in the third game of LA’s five-game road trip. The Lakers have dropped the first two games of the trip and will look to avoid falling to .500 after their red-hot 3-0 start.
Great opportunity to get back into the win column today 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/SyMCFdgwWi
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) November 1, 2024
Attacking an Inferior Opponent Early
The Raptors are off to a rough 1-4 start after winning just 25 games last year. They are now without their best player, Scottie Barnes, as well as other rotational pieces, including Bruce Brown, Immanuel Quickley, Ja’Kobe Walter, and Kelly Olynyk. Given these circumstances, it is clear the Lakers are the better team coming into this game.
It is important LA comes out with energy early and tries to make this one a blowout. The Lakers were outscored by 19 points in the first quarter of their loss against the Cavaliers, and they certainly won’t want a repeat performance of that.
If the Purple and Gold can get a big lead early and keep it, it opens up the door for a stress-free win. This could help limit the minutes of players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which is crucial during a multi-game road trip.
Getting More Bench Production
Outside of Dalton Knecht and one good game from Jaxson Hayes, the Lakers have been relying almost completely on the starters to put up points and lead the team to victory.
While, of course, injuries play a factor, the Lakers have to find something with the bench players that are currently available if they want to continue to win games.
Max Christie has struggled in his expanded role to start the season, shooting just 27.8% from the field, and Gabe Vincent still has yet to reach double-digit point totals in a regular season game for the Lakers.
A match up like this one, where the Lakers are likely to dictate the pace of play, is a perfect opportunity to try to get something going and for JJ Redick to draw up some sets to get the bench guys more looks.
Players to Watch For
After a streak of 30-point games to start the season, Anthony Davis had to settle for just 22 against the Cavs.
With the Raptors lacking talent and depth at the Center position, expect AD to start a new 30-point streak and dominate against the likes of Jakob Poeltl and Chris Boucher, who have already conceded notable scoring numbers against star big men this season, such as Nikola Jokic (40 points).
As for the Raptors, they’ll be relying heavily on RJ Barrett throughout the course of the game, given the aforementioned injury to their typical first option, Scottie Barnes.
We will likely see Austin Reaves and Max Christie as his primary assignments defensively, and they’ll have their work cut out for them as Barrett is coming off a 31-point outburst against Charlotte.
With limited offensive help for Barrett outside of Gradey Dick, though, the Lakers should be able to shrink the floor and make things difficult for the Canadian guard all night long.
