The Los Angeles Lakers continue their road trip on Tuesday evening, traveling north of the border to take on the struggling Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors were one of the biggest sellers at the trade deadline and their play has really suffered as a result with them going into tank mode to close out the season.
Coming into this one, the Raptors have lost 13 straight games with a majority of them being blowouts. They are getting both Immanuel Quickley and R.J. Barrett back in the lineup for this game though, which should make them more competitive.
Toronto is still without numerous key players, however, including Scottie Barnes, Gary Trent Jr., Chris Boucher, Jakob Poeltl and Ochai Agbaji.
As LeBron James recently cautioned to his Lakers teammates earlier on this road trip though, they can’t afford to take these below .500 opponents lightly, first the Raptors and then the Washington Wizards in the second end of the back-to-back on Wednesday.
The Lakers remain in ninth place in the Western Conference and if they want to climb up in the final seven games, or at least avoid moving even further down, then they need to take care of business against teams like the Raptors.
When these two teams squared off in L.A. in January the Lakers managed to escape with a close victory, although it did not come without some controversy as Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković went on his famous rant postgame about the free throw differential. The Lakers have been extremely focused on this road trip though, so hopefully things don’t come down to the wire again on Tuesday.
Similar to Toronto though, the Lakers are without some key pieces in this one. Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood remain out with their expected injuries, while Gabe Vincent and Cam Reddish have also been ruled out on Tuesday.
Vincent was able to return from knee surgery on Sunday in Brooklyn but with the back-to-back this week, he is sitting out against Toronto. Reddish is away from the team for personal reasons.
With those guys being out, more pressure is on guys like Spencer Dinwiddie, Taurean Prince and Max Christie to produce off the bench for L.A. The starting lineup has done its part in recent weeks, so if the bench can play at a high level as well then the Lakers should be able to cruise to victory.
Los Angeles Lakers (42-33) vs. Toronto Raptors (23-51)
4 p.m. PT, Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: LeBron James
PF: Rui Hachimura
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Taurean Prince, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jaxson Hayes Max Christie
Projected Raptors Starting Lineup:
PG: Immanuel Quickley
SG: RJ Barrett
SF: Gradey Dick
PF: Bruce Brown
C: Kelly Olynyk
Key Reserves: Javon Freeman-Liberty, Jalen McDaniels, Jordan Nwora, Garrett Temple
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