11/5 Utah vs. Toronto
7:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass
Opponent record: 8-1
Season series: Tied 0-0
The Toronto Raptors took a big gamble when they gave up All-Star and face of the franchise DeMar DeRozan in exchange for former Finals MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard. But so far, things are going exceptionally well for them.
The Raptors have looked like one of the toughest teams, not only in the Eastern Conference, but in the entire NBA. Their lone loss came to the Milwaukee Bucks in a game that Kawhi didn’t suit up for as Toronto aims to ease him back into continuous play. He’s been electric so far this year, though, putting up averages of 26.1 points on shooting splits of 50.4 percent from the field and 44.8 percent three while adding 7.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
But it’s not like he’s pulling the weight alone. Kyle Lowry is off to an awesome start as well, and up and down the roster the Raptors are staunch and feature few weaknesses. They are in the top ten in both offensive and defensive ratings, further proving their dominance on both sides of the ball.
Oddly enough, they’ve also been one of the worst teams in the league as far as containing opponent 3-point percentage, so this may be an area where Utah could take advantage. However, considering that the Jazz are just 15th in the league in perimeter shooting, I’m not too certain they’re the ideal candidate to capitalize on the Raptors in this manner.
In other words, based on Utah’s slow start and the completeness of the Toronto Raptors across the board, under normal circumstances, I have a feeling we’d see the Jazz fall to the Raptors. However, the lone glimmer of hope is that this game will be a back-to-back for Toronto who visits the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night. The Raptors have made it clear that they plan to rest Kawhi on half of back-to-back slates, so assuming he plays Sunday in LA, that means he won’t suit up Monday in Salt Lake City.
That uncertainty makes this a little hard to predict, so let me go with this. If Kawhi plays, I think the Jazz lose their fourth straight. If he doesn’t play, I believe the Jazz find a way to win despite the fact that the Raptors have plenty of other players capable of stepping up. Since I think he’s more likely to play in LA than in Utah, I’ll give the Jazz a narrow edge in this one. If he does play, though, I have a feeling the Jazz won’t be able to measure up.
*Update: Following the publishing of this article, it was announced that Donovan Mitchell will miss Monday’s contest with an ankle injury, further complicating the matchup. Watch for additional preview and an updated prediction from The J-Notes on Monday morning.
My Prediction: Jazz Win
Final Score: Utah 104, Toronto 99