Game Thread: Toronto Raptors vs. San Antonio Spurs

Though the photo above this sentence might be a bit of a tease, it’ll unfortunately be another game in front of a mostly empty gym for the Toronto Raptors tonight as they host the San Antonio Spurs.

The Raptors are finally, thankfully starting to pull together some roster momentum to begin 2022. With their best five players uninjured and out of health and safety protocols, Toronto can both start building chemistry for their small starting lineup and get guys back to the conditioning they need to be at. The Raptors have a great opportunity now to string together some wins — they’ve got two so far — as they remain competitive in a scrambled Eastern Conference, with both Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet playing at All-Star levels.

Some bad news today, though, as Svi Mykhailiuk and Yuta Watanabe entered health and safety protocols, robbing the bench of some depth against a Spurs team that defends well.

As Josh Kern explored in his preview, though, there’s still Khem Birch and Precious Achiuwa to bang with San Antonio’s rangy (and familiar) frontcourt. The rebounding battle and finishing around the rim are always storylines to follow when the Spurs and Raptors meet, with tonight being no exception.

Here are the rest of the game details.

Where to Watch:

Sportsnet, 7:00PM ET

Lineups:

Toronto – Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby

San Antonio — Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Jakob Poeltl, Tre Jones, Derrick White

Injuries:

Toronto — Svi Mykhailiuk, Yuta Watanabe (health and safety protocols – out), David Johnson (calf – out), Goran Dragic (personal – out)

San Antonio — Keita Bates-Diop (hamstring – questionable), Zach Collins (ankle – out), Doug McDermott, Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker IV, Devontae Cacok (health and safety protocols – out)