Detroit @ Toronto preview
Scotiabank Arena
Last Meeting ( Jan 14, 2022 ) Toronto 87, Detroit 103
As strange as it might seem judging by the standings, the visiting Detroit Pistons will go for a sweep of their three-game season series with the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night.
The Pistons, coached by former Raptors coach Dwane Casey, have won the first two meetings between the teams, most recently a 103-87 drubbing at Detroit on Jan. 14.
The Pistons also swept three games from the Raptors last season and are 8-7 against them over the past four seasons. They have never swept the Raptors two seasons in a row.
After their 116-113 loss to the host Washington Wizards on Tuesday, the Pistons were 14th in the Eastern Conference.
After squeaking past the visiting Brooklyn Nets 109-108 on Tuesday, the Raptors were seventh in the East.
The Pistons have won three of their past five games, defeating the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets by a combined five points.
In the loss to the Wizards on Tuesday, Jerami Grant scored 26 points, Cade Cunningham 20 and Saddiq Bey 19 for the Pistons.
"I like the way we're connecting; the ball is moving around and we're finding the right person," Casey said. "Our one-on-one defense has to be better throughout the game."
The improvement from the veterans, such as Grant, has influenced the younger players.
"That's what (the veterans) are here for," Casey said. "They have to help the young players. They've been hurt and there's COVID and all that stuff. We've got to have them to be competitive, and they have to step up -- and they did in a big way."
Toronto will go for a third straight win after taking two from the Nets, starting Monday with a 133-97 blowout in Brooklyn.
The Raptors were without OG Anunoby (finger injury) and Fred VanVleet (knee) for both games. On Tuesday, Gary Trent Jr. had a team-high 24 points for Toronto.
The Raptors were backed by a crowd of 18,903 as attendance limits were removed for the first time since Dec. 11 with the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions.
Anunoby had played with a non-displaced fracture in the ring finger of his right hand before persistent pain led to an MRI that revealed the injury.
He visited a hand specialist on Monday.
"The specialist said it was nearly healed," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "It's getting better every day. I guess we're waiting to determine (if) he's able to play on it. They said probably within two weeks it would be fully healed, so I guess we're just trying to decide which route we're going to take."
VanVleet played some games with the bruised knee that kept him sidelined against Brooklyn. As with Anunoby, the question is whether he will be able to play despite the injury.
"Is there a chance he could (make it worse)? Yeah, It's bruised; he could get hit again," Nurse said. "He could play, as we've seen, as well. Obviously, it probably gets a lot better with rest, a lot quicker. For me, if guys want to play, we're playing them if they want to play through it."
--Field Level Media