Three Thoughts: Jumbo Lineup, Rotation Minutes, #MuscleWatch
All 17 Toronto Raptors players will dress tonight in what will be the team's first competitive game since March 9. While it may just be a glorified preseason game, here are three things to look for tonight:
Jumbo Lineup:
The so-called "Jumbo Lineup" has been a hot topic with Raptors coach Nick Nurse and tonight's game against the super-small ball Rockets will be a fascinating test for the lineup.
Nurse said there will be some mixing and matching tonight and he might try out both a small ball lineup, presumably with Pascal Siakam as the team's center, along with a bigger lineup, with both Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka on the floor together.
"I think [Houston] gives you a chance to do either," Nurse said. "I think you could make a case where you've got to go small and match up with them to try to keep the ball in front of you or you can go big and try to pound them on the glass, right. And I think looking at both of those scenarios will probably show itself tonight."
If the Raptors' jumbo lineup can work against the Rockets' small-ball lineup, it will be a sign of good things to come for Toronto.
Rotation Minutes:
I wouldn't expect to glean much from tonight's game in terms of the rotation. Nurse has made it very clear that he's planning to ease guys back into things and with three scrimmage games and eight seeding games, there's no reason to rush guys back.
"I think tonight's more of just trying to again play the game and get through it," Nurse said. "It should be fun for us tonight again to play somebody else [and] just make sure guys get a nice run out, again let them monitor themselves a little bit, I can't see him a huge amount of minutes."
#MuscleWatch:
Raptors fans have heard a lot about the new-look Gasol and bulked up Chris Boucher, but tonight will be the two big's first games in their reshaped bodies. It will be interesting to see how they look and move tonight. Ultimately, if they both stay healthy it will be a success.
