Game Thread: Toronto Raptors @ Dallas Mavericks

It was disappointing to hear the news before tonight’s Raptors vs. Mavericks regarding the relative health of Jalen Harris and Yuta Watanabe. To a certain extent, there’s not much more to gain from rolling out the full Raptors squad tonight, so it would indeed be something to see the bench get a chance to play — or play more. Both were listed as doubtful this afternoon, and apparently only Harris will take the court tonight.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, are hanging onto the fifth seed and looking to avoid any further tumble. That would get them the Clippers in the first round, which proved their undoing in the Bubble last year — and would likely lead to the same conclusion here. So that’s one reason to expect some competitive fire in this evening’s showdown.

Admittedly, that’s about as far as it goes. The drama in advance of tip-off is whether or not we’ll see Kyle Lowry play in the season finale on Sunday. Or if he has indeed played his last game in a Raptors uniform — fittingly, a KLOE contest in which he appeared to take special delight in personally destroying LeBron James and the Lakers. What does this have to do with tonight’s game with the Mavericks? Not much, but we can remember the good times while they were here.

We’ve got a full Raps-Mavs preview here from Josh who kept things moving. Below are the updated details — which mostly amount to more people on the injured list. Now, let’s watch.

Where to Watch:

TSN at 9:00 pm EST

Lineups:

Toronto — Malachi Flynn, Jalen Harris, Stanley Johnson, Khem Birch, Freddie Gillespie

Dallas — Dorian Finney-Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr., Luka Dončić, Kristaps Porzingis, Dwight Powell

Injuries:

Toronto — Kyle Lowry (rest – OUT), Fred VanVleet (hip – OUT), Pascal Siakam (shoulder – OUT), OG Anunoby (calf – OUT), Paul Watson (knee – OUT), Rodney Hood (hand – OUT), Yuta Watanabe (ankle – OUT)

Dallas — JJ Redick (right heel – OUT), Maxi Kleber (Achilles – OUT)