The Toronto Raptors are looking to get back on track as they host a mini 2-game home series against the Orlando Magic. The first of which tips off tonight as the Magic look to build off of their first win of the regular season, as they knocked off the struggling New York Knicks on Sunday.
The Raptors are coming off a disappointing loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night, where they were without Kawhi Leonard due to a right knee issue. They’ll have to get used to this altered rotation, as he’ll be sidelined for the next few weeks.
This presents a lot of opportunities for players to step up in his absence. We’ve seen Ja’Kobe Walter step into the starting lineup as he was able to immediately contribute, registering 22 points of an efficient 7-12 shooting form the floor on Sunday.
Squaring off against a banged-up Orlando Magic squad, the bench unit now has a clear runway to have more of an impact than they’ve dispayed in three games so far this season.
The Orlando Magic are without both Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs for the next few weeks, which presents issues for their rotation. They are going to lean heavily on Franz Wagner now, as we saw against the Knicks on Sunday, he tallied 21 of his 23 total points in the fourth quarter to go along with 13 rebounds and 9 assists. Aside from Wagner, their main scoring options dwindle to Desmond Bane and Anthony Black, who already started the season with a right ankle sprain.
There are depth issues when it comes to this Orlando Magic squad, and the Raptors bench can capitalize on that over the next two games. The Raptors currently rank 20th in the league in bench production, with 34.3 points per game. This is slightly concerning, since they also rank 9th in the league in minutes per game logged by bench players, right around 100 minutes per game.
The Magic aren’t far off from that number, ranking 24th in bench production with just 30.3 points per game. They don’t have the same depth that Toronto does off the bench, especially considering these key injuries. Coach Sweeney is going to have to be careful with Franz Wagner’s minutes, as to make sure he doesn’t reactivate his high ankle sprain he suffered last season that sidelined him for 48 games.
Even though the numbers are skewed due to the blowout home-opener against the Chicago Bulls, the Toronto Raptors rank first in the league for defensive rating, sitting at 97.8. If they can keep up that effort against a Magic team that ranks 24th in offensive rating (106.5) they’ll be in a good position to take care of home court over the next two games.
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