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The Portland Trail Blazers head home after their four-game road trip to take on the struggling Toronto Raptors at the Moda Center on Monday. The two teams have had similarly mediocre campaigns so far. The Trail Blazers are 6-8 through their first 14 games while the Raptors are 7-7.
But to put it in perspective, the Toronto Raptors have been far better than what people expected them to be. Rookie Scottie Barnes is currently the sweeping favorite for the Rookie of the Year race. He has impressed a lot of people in the league with his performances. He is a lockdown defender who has fitted well in the Toronto Raptors' set-up.
Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers are headed for another mediocre season. They are talented enough to make the playoffs as one of the bottom seeds but aren't scary enough to make noise in the West. Their superstar Damian Lillard has started the season cold. He is averaging career-low numbers and hasn't shot the ball at his usual clip.
Toronto Raptors Injury Report
The Toronto Raptors have a few players on their injury report. Fred VanVleet and Chris Boucher are both listed as questionable due to left groin soreness and lower back soreness respectively. VanVleet didn't play in their last game against the Pistons while Boucher played just 11 minutes.
Moreover, sophomore Precious Achuiwa is listed as questionable as well due to right shoulder tendinitis. He too didn't play in the Toronto Raptors' last game. And finally, Japanese forward Yuta Watanabe continues to be sidelined due to a strain on his left calf. He hasn't played a single game this season.
Portland Trail Blazers Injury Report
Damian Lillard's absence is the biggest blow to the Portland Trail Blazers. He is the superstar point guard through which the entire offense runs and his DNP status in their last game resulted in a blowout loss.
Lillard spoke about his condition earlier this month, saying:
"Anytime it gets irritated it just is a little irritation there, you know what I mean?...But I've played with it for a few years now so I'm kinda immune to playing with it. I've played well, I've done a lot of things with it being irritated, but it's just irritating."
Rookie Greg Brown III is questionable for this game. He hasn't played in seven of the Blazers' last eight games.
Toronto Raptors vs Portland Trail Blazers: Predicted Lineups
Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors will deploy their lineup from the last game considering all the players who are listed 'questionable' don't lace up. Goran Dragic will start as the point guard instead of Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. will join him in the backcourt. OG Anunboy will start as the small forward and rookie Scottie Barnes will start as the power forward.
And lastly, Pascal Siakam is back in the lineup and will likely start as the center. He is returning after a long hiatus and will take a few games to get into a rhythm. However, he did drop 25 points in their last game in a losing effort. VanVleet spoke about Siakam's return, saying:
"I was just trying to reassure him & tell him to keep going until he figures it out. He's finding himself, finding his legs...He'll be OK. It's gonna take some time, obviously. We would all like it to be tonight or yesterday, but that's not how these things work."
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers will retain their lineup from their last game. Anfernee Simons will start as the point guard instead of Lillard and the rest of the lineup remains the same. CJ McCollum will start as the shooting guard with Norman Powell starting at his usual small forward spot.
Jusuf Nurkic is the team's bonafide center and Robert Covington is the ideal 3-and-D player who starts as the power forward. Tony Snell, Nassir Little, Cody Zeller, and Larry Nance Jr. will run the team's second unit.
Toronto Raptors vs Portland Trail Blazers: Predicted Starting 5s
Toronto Raptors
G - Goran Dragic | G - Gary Trent Jr. | F - OG Anunoby | F - Scottie Barnes | C - Pascal Siakam.
Portland Trail Blazers
G - Anfernee Simons | G - CJ McCollum | F - Norman Powell | F - Robert Covington | C - Jusuf Nurkic.
Poll : Who will win?
Toronto
Portland
85 votes
