Jay Satur - Raptors.com
Coming off a bounce back win over the Pacers, the Raptors return to Air Canada Centre for their first look at Andrew Wiggins and the Timberwolves (7:30 PM ET, TSN, TSN 1050 Radio)
Projected Starting Lineups
Raptors: Kyle Lowry (G), DeMar DeRozan (G), Terrence Ross (F), Amir Johnson (F), Jonas Valanciunas (C)
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Timberwolves: Zach LaVine (G), Kevin Martin (G), Andrew Wiggins (F), Adreian Payne (F), Gorgui Dieng (C)
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Injury/Roster Report
Raptors: Terrence Ross - back spasms (questionable), Lucas Nogueira - on assignment with NBA Development League
Timberwolves: Anthony Bennett - sprained right ankle (out), Kevin Garnett - sore left knee (questionable), Robbie Hummel - fractured right hand (out), Shabazz Muhammad - ruptured ligament in the middle finger on his left hand (out), Gary Neal - sore right ankle (questionable), Nikola Pekovic - sore right ankle (questionable), Ricky Rubio - sore right ankle (questionable)
Game Notes
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The Raptors start the day in third place in the Eastern Conference and in a dogfight to maintain their current position, just a half-game up on the Chicago Bulls and one game ahead of the fifth-seeded Wizards. Toronto may benefit from their 15 remaining games on their schedule however, with five of their next seven games at home and only three games remaining against opponents with a record currently above .500 (Chicago x 2, Rockets). According to John Schuhmann of NBA.com, the Raptors' remaining opponents have the lowest cumulative winning percentage (0.404).
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Kyle Lowry comes into tonight's game fresh off the seventh triple-double of his career in Monday's win over the Pacers (20 points, a season high-tying 11 rebounds, 10 assists) and could be in for another strong night against the Timberwolves. Lowry averaged 22.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists in two meetings with the Timberwolves last season.
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The Raptors have dominated this matchup of late, winning six straight meetings against the Timberwolves and 10 in a row within the confines of Air Canada Centre. The Raptors are 16-3 all-time against the Timberwolves in Toronto and 24-12 overall.
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With two former first overall Canadian (and Greater Toronto Area) draft picks now playing on the Timberwolves, it's fitting that it will be Canada Basketball Night at Air Canada Centre tonight. Rookie forward Andrew Wiggins will become the 15th Canadian to appear in a regular season game in Toronto since 1995 and with a scoring average of 15.7 points per game, could be poised to join Jamaal Magloire (16 pts on Nov. 20, 2000 with the Hornets) as the only Canadian to score 10+ points when making their first visit to Toronto.
Since 2012, six different players born in the GTA have appeared in NBA games at Air Canada Centre - Cory Joseph (Pickering), Tristan Thompson (Brampton), Andrew Nicholson (Mississauga), Kelly Olynyk (Toronto), Anthony Bennett (Brampton) and Nik Stauskas (Mississauga). A seventh, Tyler Ennis (Brampton), was inactive for Phoenix earlier this season.
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Best wishes go to Timberwolves president of basketball operations and head coach Flip Saunders, who won't be with the team for personal reasons tonight in Toronto. As a result of his absence, current Timberwolves assistant and former Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell will take over in his place. Mitchell was named Coach of the Year with the Raptors and led them to the playoff in back-to-back seasons (2006-07, 2007-08). His 156 regular-season wins with the Raptors (in 345 games) remains the most by a Raptors head coach, with Dwane Casey closing (146) and potentially matching him with a solid finish to this season. Both Mitchell and Casey will be coaching against their former teams tonight.
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The Timberwolves come into this one wounded (see injury report above) and struggling. The Timberwolves were beat by Brooklyn 122-106 at home on Monday for their fifth straight defeat and ninth loss in their last 10 games overall. Minnesota has only had eight players available players in each of their last two games.