The Toronto Raptors face off against the Phoenix Suns at home for the final game of 2022
Friday night marks the Phoenix Suns' arrival in Toronto, where they will face off against a struggling Raptors team to cap off 2022. The Suns have endured a tough stretch without All-Star Devin Booker, who is dealing with an injury that will take at least four weeks to heal. Booker averaged 27.1 points per game before his injury, scoring over 50 points twice already this season. He's missed seven of the last ten games and recently only played four minutes in a 128-125 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets.
With Booker's absence, the Suns have had to find other ways to remain competitive and bolster their offence. Thankfully, the strong performances of teammates Mari Speights and T.J Warren are continuing to make up for the lack of points from Booker’s absence.
Let's forget what happened last night.
The Toronto Raptors are coming off another humbling loss with the hands of Memphis Grizzlies at Scotia Bank last night, falling 119-106. Their fifth straight loss at home was nothing short of embarrassing. They were utterly outmuscled and overpowered by the Grizzlies to yet another humbling defeat. It was complete domination from start to finish, as they never looked ready to compete or fight back.
Last night, Pascal put on a show. He dropped twenty-five points and snatched ten rebounds, but that wasn't enough. Gary Trent Jr. chipped in with twenty points, and O.G. was close behind with sixteen of his own, but the rest of the squad didn't give Pascal a helping hand when he needed it most.
Toronto has gotten manhandled in the post against the Clippers and the Grizzlies. Tonight, they face yet another daunting challenge in the post. Controlling Phoenix Suns' 7-footer DeAndre Ayton is no easy feat.
Ayton's size and strength make it hard to outmuscle him or hide a smaller defender on him. The Raptors will have to come up with a creative solution to contain his inside presence. It's also worth mentioning that Phoenix is one of the top-five teams in team blocks, with 5.5 blocks per game.
Let's finish the year with a win
It's time to get real.
The Toronto Raptors' record is 15-20, and it's clear that we need a mental reset if we're going to make it through the season.
For the Toronto Raptors, it feels like the season might be a write-off. Our record stands at 15-20, and making the playoffs only seems like a dream at this point in time. But instead of feeling overwhelmed by this reality, we can take a step back and press reset. We can focus on one game at a time and build on our momentum week after week.
