Published on: Jan 23, 2022 6:35 pm IST|Updated on: Jan 23, 2022 6:35 pm IST
TOR vs POR Dream11: Hey, NBA fans, we are now in the midseason window and what a brilliant season this has been. For me, each team has its own beauty, and even if they lose, we are talking about professional basketball players here and even if their teams are not winning much, they will put on a show regardless. Well, this is what I think, as someone who follows all the 30 teams and keeps a tab on how they are faring, I have to see the meaning of the season beyond championships, and deep Playoff runs at this point. And the readers here usually engage in fantasy scenarios, so all teams are relevant in one way or the other.
Anyway, in this game, the Portland Trail Blazers will visit the Toronto Raptors in an inter-conference affair. Trail Blazers are having another tough season and they have again failed to even capitalize a 50% win record with Lillard and McCollum going in and out of the lineup, the challenge has increased even further. At least McCollum is back now. Let us see if the Trail Blazers make some moves soon!
On the other hand, the Toronto Raptors have been around the 50% win record but I feel they can be a way better team. What has been their problem? A lack of bench and Gary Trent Jr. has been hurt recently. Can the Raptors make sure that they close in on a 60% win record soon? Will they make some trades?
Host: Toronto Raptors Visitors: Portland Trail Blazers Match Timing: 24 January, @ 04:30 AM Venue: Scotia Bank Arena
Raptors: Too much load on the starters Fred, Siakam, Barnes, and Anunoby played 39-41 minutes in the last game versus the Wizards. And those are some high numbers. This has been the case throughout the season. And what happens in this case? Well, they have run out of gas by the end of the fourth quarter and for a team that plays a grind-out style, the exhaustion can mean the legs being tired which causes jumpers to fall short and a lapse in concentration. This team has some exciting players, a lot of length in the frontline, a highly talented one-guard, and a more than effective offensive two-guard. Although the big Forward and Center, the position has some depth with Siakam and Barnes backed by Boucher and Achiuwa. The team has no guard or wing depth. Van Vleet has been a primetime scorer along with Siakam, meanwhile, Barnes has been a strong two-way presence. Anunoby has done well in the isolation situation but yes, I think he can do more. Overall, it is just the lack of bench that has held the Raptors back, a player like Eric Gordon can really help this team out I feel.
Trail Blazers: Is the current winning run fluke? The Trail Blazers have won five out of the last seven games, which has not been the case for them this season. Well, Portland’s recent surge can be attributed to Jusuf Nurkic getting big on the rebounding ends, Anfernee Simons playing at a high level, Covington and Little playing tough at the Forward positions and now with McCollum back, the team can potentially have a better scoring range. Portland is missing Lillard and Powell though with Lillard being the top-scorer and playmaker while Powell is a 15-20 points contributor on a regular basis, so, yes, the current run in that way is impressive. Is this a sign of things changing? Or is it just one of those windows where the team chemistry clicks for a brief window? Will the team make some trades or will they give another run to the current core?
Toronto Raptors | Portland Trail Blazers Games: 43| 45 Wins: 22| 19 Defeats: 21| 26
Toronto Raptors Team News
Raptors Expected Starting Five Wings: SF: Scottie Barnes SF: OG Anunoby Middle: PF: Pascal Siakam Guards: SG: Fred VanVleet PG: Gary Trent Jr
BENCH: Chris Boucher, Precious Achiuwa, Svi Mykhailiuk, , Delano Banton, Isaac Bonga, Justin Champagnie, Malachi Flynn, David Johnson, Yuta Watanabe.
Portland Trailblazers Team News
Trailblazers Expected Starting Five Wings: PF: Robert Covington SF: Nasir Little Middle: C: Jusuf Nurkic Guard: SG: CJ McCollum PG: Anfernee Simmons
BENCH: Ben McLemore, Dennis Smith Jr., Trendon Watford, CJ Elleby, Greg Brown III, Tony Snell.
Fred VanVleet(TOR) Points: 21 Rebounds: 01 Assists: 12 Steals: 02 Blocks: 02 Fred has been having an All-Star level season(Although I am not a fan of the offensive-centric all-star game). The Guard has kept the offensive engine ticking, however compared to earlier when he was dipping in 30+ points earlier this month, his scoring has been in 18-24 range while he has dished 7-12 assists a game regularly these days. Expected Fantasy Points Range: 40-55
Jusuf Nurkic(POR) Points: 29 Rebounds: 17 Assists: 06 Blocks: 01 Steals: 01 Nurkic is a high-quality Center and he has certainly touched the mid-season form after having a so-so scoring season earlier. He has been on fire on boards and scoring, grabbing 14-17 rebounds and scoring in the 18-23 points range a game. The Center can be selected as a Star/Pro Player in the Dream 11 NBA Fantasy scenario. Expected Fantasy Points Range: 47-60
Pascal Siakam(TOR) Points: 21 Rebounds: 07 Assists: 04 Steals: 01 Pascal has one of the best ball-handling skills for a big in the league and his all-around abilities make him one of the best big Forwards in the league. The high-yielding PF has usually scored in the 18-23 points range, has grabbed 6-11 rebounds, and has dished 4-7 assists a game regularly. Expected Fantasy Points Range: 32-45
CJ McCollum(POR) Points: 24 Rebounds: 05 Assists: 04 Blocks: 02 CJ is a viable scoring option and after missing a significant time due to a lung injury, the guard has returned is back in full flow straightaway. The guard has scored 24 points in each of the last two games while also dishing 4 assists in those games. Expected Fantasy Points Range: 30-40
Scottie Barnes(TOR) Points: 27 Rebounds: 08 Assists: 01 Steals: 01 Scottie is a rookie wing who has injected the Raptors team with superb defense and wonderful all-around abilities. The Forward has not scored 20+ points that much and rather an 11-16 points range and has grabbed 5-9 rebounds a game regularly. Expected Fantasy Points Range: 29-41
Anfernee Simons(POR) Points: 21 Rebounds: 02 Assists: 04 Steals: 02 Simons was shooting horribly from the floor right up till late December, but then it all changed when he was inserted into the starting five after Lillard got injured, The promising guard has scored 21 or more in four of the last five games while usually dishing 4-7 assists a game. Expected Fantasy Points Range: 30-42
PG: F VanVleet(SP) SG: A Simons SF: S Barnes PF: R Covington, P Siakam, C Boucher C: J Nurkic(PP), P Achiuwa
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