The Phoenix Suns (36-26, 6th in Western Conference) host the Toronto Raptors (23-39, 12th in Eastern Conference) tonight in the teams’ second and final meeting this season.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Devin Booker (right ankle sprain) will miss his third straight game and is one of four players out for the Suns tonight. Scottie Barnes (left hand third metacarpal fracture), Bruce Brown (right knee inflammation) and Jakob Poeltl (left hand torn ligament fifth finger) are all out for Toronto. Three more Raptors are questionable.
Phoenix snapped a two-game losing streak Tuesday night, with a huge 117-107 overtime road victory over the defending-champion Denver Nuggets. The Suns allowed the Nuggets to tie it up despite a 23-1 run in the second quarter after a bad fourth quarter, but Kevin Durant (35 points, eight rebounds) and Bradley Beal (16 points, six assists) combined for 13 of the Suns’ 15 points in overtime to seal the deal. Grayson Allen went 8-for-8 from 3 to start this game, finish with 28 points.
The Raptors were blown out by 41 points last time out on Tuesday, a 139-98 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. This was Toronto’s third loss in four games. Not much went right at all for the Raptors, who allowed 34 points to Trey Murphy III off the bench. Immanuel Quickley led Toronto with 17 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.
The Suns had a then seven-game winning streak snapped by the Raptors in the teams’ last meeting on Nov. 29, a 112-105 Toronto win. The Suns struggled from the get-go in this game. Jusuf Nurkić, who is playing his best basketball of the season now, had 19 points and 14 rebounds in this last matchup.
The Raptors are now a completely different team after this first matchup with Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby on different teams and Barnes out tonight. Really only Gary Trent Jr. and Jalen McDaniels (who is questionable with an illness), who both came off the bench in this last meeting, are the only players from this game with a chance of playing tonight for Toronto.
Toronto is 25th in offensive rating and 27th in defensive rating since the Siakam trade.
Local Game Information
Start Time: 7:00 p.m. MST
Location: Footprint Center
TV Channel: 3TV/AZ Family
Radio:Â Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, La Mejor 106.5 FM
Stream:Â Suns Live (click for more info)
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 7, 2024
Betting Odds
Line: PHX -10.5
O/U:Â 232.5
Injury Report
Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker (right ankle sprain) OUT | Josh Okogie (lower abdominal strain) OUT | Nassir Little (left knee inflammation) OUT |Â Damion Lee (right meniscus surgery) OUT
Toronto Raptors: Scottie Barnes (left hand third metacarpal fracture) OUT | Bruce Brown (right knee inflammation) OUT | Jakob Poeltl (left hand torn ligament fifth finger) OUT | Jalen McDaniels (illness) QUESTIONABLE | Ochai Agbaji (left knee soreness) QUESTIONABLE | D.J. Carton (right ankle sprain) QUESTIONABLE
Starters (Projected)
Phoenix Suns: Bradley Beal, Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, Kevin Durant, Jusuf Nurkić
Toronto Raptors: Immanuel Quickley, Gary Trent Jr., RJ Barrett, Ochai Agbaji, Kellly Olynyk
Five Keys to Game for Suns
- Ball movement
- Forcing turnovers
- Rebounding
- Playing with pace
- Not overlooking the opponent
Prediction
Suns 130 – Raptors 105
The Suns need to blow out this Raptors team missing so many players with how difficult the rest of their schedule is. This should be an easy win and one they can show that they can cintinue to play the same way they did against the Nuggets on Tuesday in consecutive games. Phoenix should dominate on both sides of the ball on talent alone. There is no reason for this game to even be close, and it would only mean trouble for the Suns to lose this.
Last Meeting (Nov. 29, 2023)
Team Matchup Notes
Here are some stats, notes and everything else to know about the Suns and Raptors before their second matchup of the season (via Suns):
Each team’s stats (via Suns):
Preview: Injury report
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
