The Raptors held out two core players in Monday’s win over the Detroit Pistons — starting power forward Serge Ibaka Mason Foster Jersey , who was rested; and reserve point guard Fred Van Vleet, who has tightness in his lower back. There is no word yet as to whether they will be available on Wednesday, although it is assumed Ibaka will play.
Despite appearances that may suggest otherwise, Toronto’s players and coaches insist they do have some things to play for on Wednesday. For starters, they would like to reach 60 victories, although 59 is already a franchise record.
“We want 60,” Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said. “It would be a great achievement for our franchise.”
In addition, the Raptors entered Tuesday leading the Golden State Warriors by one game in the overall NBA standings, and that could be important for home-court advantage if those two teams happen to meet in the NBA Finals.
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said he believes in Toronto’s talent.
“I’ve said it for a long time: I think they are the best team in the East,” Van Gundy said. “They are the team to beat. They are a really Authentic Eric Berry Jersey , really good team.”
The Heat, meanwhile, are not clicking at the moment.
Dragic, who leads the team in scoring (17.3) and assists (4.8), is coming off a dreadful game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. Dragic was held to four points and seven assists in a 115-93 loss, shooting just 2-of-10 from the floor.
Worse yet, Dragic and the entire Heat team got abused by Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook, who had 23 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists for his 25th triple-double of the season.
The Heat were outscored 39-12 in the fourth period, which was so bad it was epic. In the history of Heat home games Matthew Stafford Jersey White , they have never had a worse quarter in terms of scoring margin.
Heat forward James Johnson was poked in the eye in the Thunder game, and Miami wing Josh Richardson banged his knee. However, both suggested they are fine.
Comments