Must win game for the Raptors
This is what the Dinos have been able to do, thus far, to open the 2009-2010 regular season:
Wed Oct 28 Win vs Cleveland [3-2/.600], 1-0
Fri Oct 30 Loss at Memphis [1-3/.250], 1-1
Sun Nov 01 Loss vs Orlando [3-1/.750], 1-2
Following this evening’s tilt vs Detroit [2-2/.500], however, the next 3 games on their schedule look like this:
Fri Nov 06 at New Orleans [1-3/.250]
Sat Nov 07 at Dallas [3-1/.750], back-to-back
Mon Nov 09 at San Antonio [2-1/.667], 3rd game in 4 nights
According to the Toronto Raptors Season Preview: Game 4 [Sep 24], an astute observer should have been expecting the Pistons to lose this evening’s game, if/when looking at match-up well in advance.
Add-in the fact that two veteran starting players for the Pistons, i.e. Rip Hamilton [OG] and Tayshaun Prince [SF], are now expected to be unavailable tonight, due to their recent injuries, and this SHOULD mean that this game becomes EVEN MORE winnable for the Raptors.
If Toronto is going to try to keep its head above water through the first 20 games of the season … with 3 consecutive road L’s looming on the horizon … winning tonight’s match-up against a depleted Pistons’ squad is absolutely crucial.
One week from today, even if Toronto’s eventual W-L Record stands at a rather inauspicious 2-5, that would still be a might sight better than a thud-like mark of 1-6, which is where they might find themselves [at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, perhaps?] should they fail to win this evening.
With that in mind … it says here that Toronto will play well enough tonight to secure the W and square their W-L Record at 2-2.
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PS. THAT, right there ↑↑↑, is what qualifies as a “legitimate W-L prediction,” from yours truly, for this specific game, for the benefit of those of you who are paying close attention to such matters. 
PPS. Whether Toronto can actually get the cover [or not] on this game is a different question altogether. As of now, however, this specific game does not rate as a worthwhile KSS GOTD Selection.
Tags: Amir Johnson, Andrea Bargnani, Antoine Wright, Austin Daye, Ben Gordon, Ben Wallace, Charlie Villanueva, Chris Bosh, Chris Wilcox, Demar DeRozan, Deron Washington, Detroit Pistons, Hedo Turkoglu, Jarrett Jack, Jason Maxiell, Jay Triano, John Kuester, Jose Calderon, Kwame Brown, Marco Belinelli, Marcus Banks, Patrick O'Bryant, Rasho Nesterovic, Richard Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince, Toronto Raptors, Will Bynum
November 5th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Hopefully after watching this game, you are able to ascertain why I’m skeptical about Rodney Stuckey’s ability to become an “elite” let alone above-average player in the NBA.
November 5th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
brgulker,
No, unfortunately, I’m not.
IMO, if he’s fortunate enough to land with the right head coach, who knows how the PG position is supposed to be played, at the elite level, Rodney Stuckey’s capacity to become an All-NBA player will be realized.