The Toronto Raptors will look to bounce back when they host Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Leonard will play in this game as the former Raptors star is starting to show shades of his old self. He returned from injury on Jan. 4 and in his last two games Leonard has put up solid outings going for 27 points against the San Antonio Spurs and 21 points against the Charlotte Hornets. It’s always a spectacle to watch Leonard return to Toronto so let’s see what he has in store for his former team.
Meanwhile, other former Raptor Norman Powell, who has been playing the best basketball of his career, will be out with right hip soreness. Powell played 36 minutes against the Hornets and is now dealing with the injury.
This will be the second game of the Raptors current four-game homestand. The Raptors saw their NBA-leading five-game win streak snapped on Jan. 31 against the Chicago Bulls.
The team did see the return of Immanuel Quickley who played his 10th game of the season and despite being on a minutes restriction, he turned in a great performance. In 15 minutes of action Quickley finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block while going 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-5 from three.
The Raptors did not look like the team that had been rolling. Prior to the loss the Raptors had won 7 of their last 8 games and had the best defense in the NBA during that stretch. Instead they looked more like the team that went through a 1-16 stretch earlier in the season and had the worst defense during that span.
It’ll be interesting to see which version of the Raptors shows up when they go up against a tough Clippers team.
Los Angeles Clippers (28-20) vs. Toronto Raptors (15-33)
3:30 p.m. EST, Sunday, February 2, 2025
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
TV: TSN
Projected Clippers Starting Lineup:
PG: James Harden
SG: Terance Mann
SF: Kawhi Leonard
PF: Derrick Jones Jr.
C: Ivica Zubac
Key Reserves: Amir Coffey, Kevin Porter Jr., Kobe Brown
Projected Raptors Starting Lineup:
PG: Immanuel Quickley
SG: Gradey Dick
SF: RJ Barrett
PF: Scottie Barnes
C: Jakob Poeltl
Key Reserves: Ochai Agbaji, Davion Mitchell, Bruce Brown
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