The Rap-Up: Anunoby returns to Toronto before the Raptors finish the NBA Cup schedule

A two-game slate is music to the ears of a Raptors team trying to get back to full strength.

The Emirates NBA Cup playoffs are an exciting time for the 8 teams that qualified.

Expectations were low for the Toronto Raptors to make any noise in the second edition of the in-season tournament. With only 3 of the first 25 games against teams with sub-.500 records last season, the Raptors reaching this point with 7 wins (and plenty of moral victories) is actually positive news.

If you’re like me, you probably figured the Raptors were due for an easier stretch of games, starting this week. WRONG!

The Pro-Tankers will be happy to know that the competition will remain difficult even as the Raptors get healthier. I don’t think the Raptors would purposely tank before the All-Star break, so sign me up for 30 more games of individual growth, positive team vibes, moral victories, and ethical tanking!

December 9 vs New York Knicks

The New York Knicks spent the offseason bolstering the lineup by adding Mikal Bridges — one of the only wing defenders in the same stratosphere as OG Anunoby — and Karl-Anthony Towns. A starting lineup with those three, a pair of scrappy Villanova Wildcats alum, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, and a defensive coaching genius in Tom Thibodeau has worked out exactly how you’d expect.

New York has the best offense in the entire NBA.

The Knicks are averaging 124.0 points per possession on 58.7% effective field goal. To put that in context, last season’s record-setting offense in Boston averaged 123.2 points per possession on 57.8% effective field goal. They’re #1 in free-throw percentage, #2 in three-point percentage (40.7%), and #1 in categories within the halfcourt (putback points per play) AND transition (points per play off steals).

KAT is averaging 25.2 points (2nd-highest in his career) and 13.2 rebounds (career-high) on 53/45/86 shooting. In fact, four of the five Knicks starters are averaging near or at 50/40/80 shooting splits: Brunson (50/43/84), Josh Hart (60/39/86), and OG Anunoby (49/38/84).

The bench was thinned out thanks to the Bridges and KAT trades, but the starters have mostly been healthy. Bridges, Anunoby, and Hart all rank in the top 6 in total minutes played this season.

Whether or not the offense is sustainable (early signs point to yes), the defense will always be there!

Fun fact that may only interest me

OG Anunoby really enjoys playing against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

Two weeks ago, OG scored a career-high 40 points as the Knicks handed the Nuggets its worst loss of the season — a 145-118 rout in Denver.

Every Raptor fan will remember another game in Denver that starred OG. A week before the pandemic ruined interfered with the Raptors’ championship defense, Toronto was in Denver but without Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka. Anunoby was tasked with the impossible role of guarding Jokic. All OG did was have the game of his life (still his highest Game Score of his career), scoring 32 points while amassing 7 steals......all while guarding the future 3-time MVP!

Prediction

This game is a rarity for the Toronto Raptors. I don’t have the patience to research but this may be the only time the Raptors have played where they were the only game on the (regular season) NBA slate! With the NBA universe focused on Scotiabank Arena, the Knicks’ unforgiving offense will find little resistance from the Raptors. New York covers the -5.5 spread.

December 12 @ Miami Heat

When the schedule was released, 80 of the 82 games were set in stone. Results from the Emirates NBA Cup would determine when and where each team’s additional home and road games would be played. In a season that has welcomed a surprising number of moral victories, the Raptors scored another one by landing a December road game in the warm climate of South Beach, Miami!

I’d guess RJ Barrett would be the recipient of Miami’s “shut-down-the-opponent’s-top-scoring-threat” defensive approach. Let’s see what Point Scottie has in store for the Heat!

Please include in the comments who you think will most likely hit a game-winner over Ochai Agbaji. Here’s my ranking:

• Tyler Herro
• Haywood Highsmith

That’s it. That’s the list. No Jimmy Butler. No Duncan Robinson. No Terry Rozier. It’s Tyler or Haywood at the buzzer.

Fun fact that may only interest me

Player 1:

16.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 1.3 blocks, 61.7% true shooting, 2.2 win shares

Player 2:

16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 0.8 blocks, 51.0% true shooting, 1.9 win shares

Player 1 is Jakob Poeltl. Player 2 is Bam Adebayo.

Bam is putting up the worst shooting numbers of his career. He hasn’t scored this little since he became a full-time starter in 2019.

As far as USA Senior Men’s basketball teammates go, Bam falls into the bucket of underperformers (alongside Tyrese Haliburton) who probably could have benefited from a lighter summer program.

On the bright side, this tier is still higher than however you want to classify Joel Embiid.

Prediction

The Raptors have lost six of their last eight visits to Miami and by double-digits in each of the last three. Similar to the earlier game against the Knicks, Toronto finds itself with an odd matchup where the opponent has the better transition offense (3rd in transition points per play).

Despite these facts, I’ll stick to the Raptors being happy they get to play in a warm city and cover the +6.5 spread.

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Last Week’s Record: 2-1

Season Record: 11-13