The Toronto Raptors will be gearing up to face an enormous challenge as they are scheduled to play against the Portland Trail Blazers. The Raptors are hardly anywhere near playoff reckoning. Standing eleventh in the Eastern Conference with an 18-27 record, they are struggling each game.

Portland, on the other hand, is standing fifth in the Western Conference. With a 27-18 record, they are on a two-game winning streak and are ready to stretch it to three. Can the Raptors, who have lost 10 out of their last 11 games, keep up with the Blazers?

Portland Trail Blazers injury updates and lineup prediction

Despite not having their star player, Damian Lillard, the Blazers had a smooth win against the Orlando Magic. To be fair, Orlando had traded away their entire core before the trade deadline. So, no surprise there.

In fact, the Blazers’ newly acquired Norman Powell added 22 points in his debut night with them, along with five three-pointers. Even CJ McCollum added 22 points to the scoreboard. Following that, Robert Covington and Enes Kanter were the second-highest scorers.

Trending

Shaq Makes Big Claim That Can End LeBron James’ Future With Lakers After Nuggets Series

April 17, 2024 06:48 PM EDT

Possible Shohei Ohtani Ban From MLB Has Shaq Questioning $700 Million Contract

April 16, 2024 05:20 PM EDT

7’4 Victor Wembanyama, Accused of Disrespecting Knicks Star, Gets MVP Shout-Out From Unbothered Jalen Brunson

April 19, 2024 02:58 PM EDT

Why Is Gabbie Marshall Not Invited to the 2024 WNBA Draft Despite Graduating From Iowa?

April 13, 2024 06:21 PM EDT

Is Dawn Staley Married? Details on South Carolina Coach’s Love Life and Special Bond With Lisa Boyer

March 16, 2024 06:41 PM EDT

Get instantly notified of the hottest NBA stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

With Lillard questionable for this matchup as well, CJ will be taking the lead again. He is averaging 24.3 points and 4.7 assists, and with the way Powell is playing, it seems like they are in safe hands. Zach Collins is still ruled out along with Nassir Little.

So, the predicted lineup would be Norman Powell, Derrick Jones Jr., CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, and Robert Covington.

Toronto Raptors injury updates and lineup prediction

The Toronto Raptors‘ last outing was against the Phoenix Suns, in which they lost 104-100. This franchise has shown no consistency in the season so far. For the first three quarters against Phoenix, they were constantly leading and then trailing and failed to contain them in the paint.

Pascal Siakam is the prime scorer on their team. He put up 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists against the Suns. Following him were Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby, who added 22 and 15 points, respectively.

DeAndre’ Bembry, Paul Watson, and Patrick McCaw are ruled out for this game. But their absence should not play a tremendous disadvantage to the team.

With that, the predicted lineup would be Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr., and OG Anunoby.

Game prediction

The obvious favorites to win this matchup are the Portland Trail Blazers. Not only do they have momentum on their side, they also have more efficient scorers who will take them to victory against the Raptors.