NBA games of the week: Raptors bounce back
By Chazz Scogna
Friday, Mar. 23: Brooklyn at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. ET
A game after Toronto squares off against a potential playoff opponent, they go right back to a lottery team. The Raptors beat the Nets nine days earlier and have the best home record in the league, even with the loss against Oklahoma City.
These games, however inconsequential they may be for the standings in the East, are still important games. Toronto is 3.5 games back of the Houston Rockets for the best record in the NBA and a half-game back of the Warriors. Even if Toronto has never been to the Finals, to think that far ahead is necessary. The Warriors and Rockets are juggernauts. Any edge is necessary, and four games at Air Canada Centre instead of three could be huge.
That doesn’t seem lost on Toronto either. After their win against Brooklyn, DeRozan and Kyle Lowry were adamant about wanting more, meaning the Larry O’Brien trophy. To say a game against the Nets is a must-win is dramatic, but to say it could be a decent-sized part to their chances of homecourt throughout isn’t that crazy, especially when you remember the Raptors swept Houston this season. And, if the Warriors continue to nurse injuries to their best players, their sweep of the Raptors could mean nothing.