Raptors, Blazers meet before Lakers take on Warriors in NBA doubleheader on TSN
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The Toronto Raptors look to get back into the win column with a battle against the Portland Trail Blazers, while Western Conference powers meet later with the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Golden State Warriors.
With the NBA playoffs set to being on April 19, there are fewer than three weeks remaining for teams to lock in to the playoff picture and gather momentum for a title run.
Raptors take on Trail Blazers
The Raptors saw a four-game winning streak come to a halt with a 137-118 dismantling at the hands of the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.
Toronto (28-48) looks to get back into the win column with the Trail Blazers (33-43) coming to Scotiabank Arena.
Portland is desperately fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament, as they trail the Sacramento Kings by three games with six games remaining on the schedule. They currently sit 12th, with the Phoenix Suns one game back of Sacramento for the final spot.
Canadian guard Shaedon Sharpe is expected to lead the Trail Blazers against the Raptors Thursday night. His 18.0 points per game this season is a new career-high, coming in his third campaign since being selected seventh overall in the 2022 NBA Draft. Top scorer Anfernee Simons continues to deal with a forearm injury and is listed as questionable.
Meanwhile, the Raptors are playing out the string on another losing season.
Star forward Scottie Barnes, who is averaging 19.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game this season, is questionable with a hand contusion, per TSN Raptors Insider Josh Lewenberg.
The Raptors will be without guards Immanuel Quickley and Gradey Dick, centre Jakob Poeltl and forward Brandon Ingram as well. Quickley and Poeltl are resting, while the other two are dealing with ongoing injuries.
Star-studded Lakers battle Warriors
The Lakers stunned the NBA landscape when they acquired superstar forward Luka Doncic in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 1.
Since adding Doncic, even despite him and LeBron James missing time with injuries, the Lakers have gone 18-10 to surge to the third spot in the Western Conference standings. With their major contributors healthy, the Lakers are looking to build momentum for the end of the season.
"Our mission is to lock in a playoff spot," James said earlier this week, after the Lakers qualified for the playoffs through the play-in tournament in three of the last four seasons. "We don't want to have to play in the play-in, so we understand what's at stake."
Los Angeles has two games against the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder still on the schedule, and tonight's battle against the Warriors provides another significant challenge with Stephen Curry healthy and in the lineup.
Curry, a two-time MVP and two-time scoring champion, averages 24.4 points per game this season.
The Warriors (44-31) trail the Lakers (46-29) by two games in the standings as the two teams vie for playoff positioning in the final weeks of the season.