Raptors vs. Grizzlies: The Kyle Lowry Elbow Watch Continues

The Raptors take to the road tonight for a visit with the remnants of the once mighty Memphis Grizzlies empire. There's not a ton at stake here. The Raps clinched the Atlantic Division, they are pretty much a lock for the 2-seed, and they have no particular animus towards the Grizzlies (even with Vince Carter on their team). Toronto has eight games left -- and only three left at home -- so the only question left is, of course: how much will Kyle Lowry play?

As of this writing (at some undefined time in the afternoon), there's been no official word. Lowry did play 40 minutes on Wednesday in the Raptors' win over the Hawks. He shot 4-for-19, but affected the game with his passing and defense. The Raptors need him healthy, but as Lowry has said, he's not sure the rest for his elbow will make a ton of difference now. He's just going to play through it.

Memphis meanwhile is a listing ship, sinking slowly into the sea. The end of the season can't come too soon for them, though, somewhat ironically, they have a good shot of making the playoffs. The Grizzlies have seven games left and are 4.5 games up on the ninth place Rockets (who deserve nothing). They're currently riding a four game losing streak though, and their roster is filled with guys with names like Xavier Munford. Oh yeah, and they require heavy minutes from the likes of Matt Barnes, Lance Stephenson and Chris Anderson. A scary proposition all around.

In any case, the Raptors should be favoured here and we'll all have to wait and see what kind of Kyle Lowry we get (if any at all).

Let's watch.