The Toronto Raptors travel to Minneapolis to play the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Wednesday.
The Raptors (32-21) have been one of the worst teams over recent weeks, but with DeMar DeRozan back in the fold, they should be ready to start winning some games. Before winning their last two, Toronto had lost eight of their last 10, with many of those losses coming in the absence of DeRozan. It’s his 28 points a game that they missed most, as the offense was playing far below season averages in that poor stretch. In his first game back, he dropped 31 points in a blowout win over the Los Angeles Clippers and that alone shows just how valuable he is to this team, It does have to make fans wonder if there’s a move on the horizon though, as there’s simply not enough depth behind DeRozan and Kyle Lowry to carry the load if either are to miss time.
The Timberwolves (19-33) looked poised to battle for the eight-seed after a two-game winning streak last week, but they’ve proceeded to lose four-straight since. The loss of Zach LaVine is clearly weighing on this young team, as his 19 points and 37 minutes are nearly impossible to fill. That has led to the signing of Lance Stephenson and Minnesota fans are hoping he can bring some of his Indiana magic into this struggling team. The players they’ll really need to step up are the young studs though, as Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns need to take this team on their shoulders and attempt to get them to that coveted eight-seed.
