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Because the losses proceed to pile up with no obvious finish in sight, the pounding on the boards persists with so few accessible choices.
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Kelly Olynyk isn’t going to out of the blue add 20 kilos to his body and neither is Jontay Porter, who continues to indicate Raptors administration that he’s a possible asset value maintaining because the membership builds for subsequent season.
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At the very least the Raptors are dwelling, but it surely’s unlikely the comforts will do something to assist finish a dropping streak that has reached 5 video games, which ties a season excessive.
There’s no common beginning unit to depend on, no depth, no telling what participant might be deemed unavailable within the hours main as much as tipoff.
By way of tank jobs, the Raptors have managed this course of fairly adeptly.
When the Raptors ended their four-game street journey in Detroit Wednesday evening, they misplaced to the second-worst crew within the NBA.
Woeful Washington resides within the league’s basement.
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The Raptors might be in Washington for a March 23 assembly earlier than returning dwelling to play host to Brooklyn on March 25.
The Orlando Magic will present the opposition Friday evening at Scotiabank Enviornment earlier than it performs host to the Raptors on Sunday.
The Sacramento Kings and Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder will then go to Toronto earlier than the Raptors head to Washington.
Nobody ought to query the Raptors’ compete stage, however the crew is just too undersized and shorthanded to beat any opponent.
Throughout the crew’s 0-4 street journey, which started in Phoenix, the Raptors needed to cope with Jusuf Nurkic, Deandre Ayton, Nikola Jokic and Jalen Duren.
In 4 video games, the Raptors ended with minus-43 on the boards.
The 4 reliable centres mixed to haul down 68 rebounds
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Duren recorded a career-high 23 boards to enhance his 23-point outing in serving to the Pistons win their third sport previously 4, a feat final achieved by the membership almost two years in the past.
Detroit’s 113-104 win additionally earned it the season sequence over the Raptors.
Duren additionally added 5 assists, elevating him to the ranks of the Joker and Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis as the one gamers this season to submit two video games with a minimum of 20 factors, 20 boards and 5 dimes.
The Pistons trailed by as many as 16 factors within the second quarter.
The sport turned after the Raptors took their largest benefit with 3:13 remaining within the opening half.
At intermission, the Raptors would solely lead by 5 factors.
Toronto may solely handle 22 factors within the third quarter and was restricted to 2 factors on 1-of-8 taking pictures to start the primary 5 minutes of the fourth interval.
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The Raptors’ finest stretch got here within the second quarter, which started with the guests occurring a 26-5 run, which featured 9 gamers contributing factors.
Cade Cunningham, Detroit’s finest participant, didn’t even see the ground within the fourth as a result of the Pistons didn’t want him as soon as the sport was seized.
Immanuel Quickley (hip flexor) returned after sitting out Toronto’s loss in Denver.
In Detroit, R.J. Barrett (private causes) was dominated unavailable and he’s additionally out in opposition to Orlando.
Quickley and Olynyk every had eight assists within the loss.
Porter would add six off the bench because the Raptors recorded a mixed 32, 5 greater than Detroit.
The distinction was on the glass because the Pistons outrebounded the Raptors, 58-37, resulting in second-chance factors.
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With 16 video games remaining and the crew sitting 20 video games underneath .500, the Raptors is not going to attain the 60-loss whole as a result of it’s mathematically inconceivable.
What is feasible and fairly doubtless is a 50-loss season, maybe much more contemplating there are solely 4 winnable video games on the horizon, two every in opposition to the Wizards and Nets.
The numbers are ugly, whether or not it entails dropping seven of eight heading into Friday or being this many video games underneath .500 in nearly 11 years.
As ugly as it’s and has been, the reality is it would worsen.
There’s no query, given the state of the roster, that further losses await.
These searching for some constructive indicators can look no additional than Porter, who has been flat-out balling.
When he performed his brother, Michael Porter Jr., within the Mile Excessive Metropolis Monday evening because the Porter siblings appeared on the identical NBA flooring for the primary time, Jontay Porter scored a career-high 14 factors.
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He ended Wednesday’s loss in Motown by blocking a career-high 4 photographs, whereas tying his season-high in assists.
The Magic arrives on the town following a 114-106 dwelling win over Brooklyn Wednesday evening.
Orlando shot 51.9% from the sphere, enhancing its report to 20-1 on the season when its shoots 50% or higher.
Exactly one yr in the past at the moment, the Magic sported a 28-40 report.
The crew heads into Friday’s tip with a 38-28 mark.
In mild of the crew’s turnaround, the franchise rewarded head coach Jamahl Mosley with a four-year contract extension that may take him by means of the 2027-28 season.
Membership president Jeff Weltman, who spent 4 years in Toronto’s entrance workplace earlier than leaving for Orlando, employed Mosley three years in the past.
The 2 have helped oversee a roster constructed round Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
In the one assembly of the season performed in Orlando on Nov. 21, Banchero led all scorers by netting 25 within the Magic’s 126-108 win over the Raptors.
Wagner produced a game-high three steals.
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