The Toronto Raptors on the second night of a back-to-back as they take on the Los Angeles Lakers for the final meeting of the year.
This was a quick two-game series between these two teams as they met a little over a week ago on Nov. 1.
L.A. beat the Raptors 131-125, which saw the Raptors nearly coming back down 26 points. That game saw 30-point performances from both RJ Barrett and Gradey Dick.
Toronto is coming off another close loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, 105-103. Thankfully, Immanuel Quickley made his anticipated return and put up 21 points on 8-for-18 shooting from the field and 3-for-8 from distance.
Ochai Agbaji continues to impress as he put up an efficient 21 points against the Clippers. This close loss happened with Barrett having an off night only scoring 13 points on 6-for-15 shooting.
If Toronto is going to want to finish what they started against the Lakers, they cannot afford a slow start. L.A. is going to feed Anthony Davis early and often, which means another daunting test for Jakob Poeltl.
In their first meeting, Davis put up 38 points and 11 rebounds. Head coach Darko Rajakovic is going to have to get creative with his defensive coverages and force the Lakers star to be a passer.
However, the Raptors cannot let players like Austin Reaves get hot from deep. Reaves is coming off six three-pointers against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
It is easier said than done to contain Davis, but Quickley and Barrett are going to have to lead the way offensively to counteract.
Los Angeles Lakers (5-4) vs. Toronto Raptors (2-8)
9:30 p.m. EST, Sunday, November 10, 2024
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
TV: TSN
Projected Raptors Starting Lineup:
PG: Immanuel Quickley
SG: Black Broken
SF: Gradey Dick
PF: RJ Barrett
C: Jakob Poeltl
Key Reserves: Chris Boucher, Davion Mitchell, Jamison Battle
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: Austin Reaves
SG: Cam Reddish
SF: LeBron James
PF: Rui Hachimura
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: D’Angelo Russell, Dalton Knecht, Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Hayes
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