This certainly wouldn’t be the matchup anyone would have expected to see back at the beginning of the season.
The Toronto Raptors’ lineup is obviously substantially different, but they weren’t alone in that tonight. The visiting Memphis Grizzlies’ roster has been almost obliterated due to injuries, with Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, Brandon Clarke, Steven Adams, Derrick Rose, and Jake LaRavia (basically half the roster) all out due to a variety of injuries.
While obviously this would be an opportunity for the Raptors to get a feel-good win against a weakened opponent, it looked a lot more like a tough learning curve for a young team that’s going to need to take some time to find themselves and their identity.