The Toronto Raptors were a franchise that we had something to say about in our "Picks" section. About a week ago, we noted that the Raptors' starters were logging huge minutes to open the season. We simultaneously wondered, out loud, if that would lead to any kind of injury problem:
The Toronto Raptors are in a little bit of trouble when one examines how much they rely on their starters. O.G. Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr., Pascal Siakiam, and Fred VanVleet are logging too many minutes. The Raptors should be concerned about injuries popping up with their starting lineup.
October 29th, 2022
The Raptors did take an injury to one of their starters. The team announced this weekend that Pascal Siakiam would be missing at least two weeks. He has a right abductor strain following an excruciating start to the NBA season that saw him average 37.4 minutes per game during the month of October.
The Raptors, however, did manage a win on Sunday without Siakiam. They posted a nine-point margin of victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Brooklyn Nets have a couple of recent wins
The big news in the NBA over the last week has come out of Brooklyn. The Nets announced that Steve Nash would no longer be the coach. A short time later, Kyrie Irving faced a suspension from the team that's still currently active.
The Nets have actually won three of their last four games. They had struggled immensely out of the gates but are 2-0 in their last two games. Both of the wins are road wins and included a 42-point demolition of the Washington Wizards.
Ime Udoka, the suspended head coach of the Boston Celtics, is thought to be the most promising prospect for the vacant coaching position. Udoka was the head coach of Boston last season. He is currently serving a suspension from the Celtics for an inappropriate relationship with a team staffer. Jacques Vaughn, the former Kansas standout, has filled in as the interim head coach for Brooklyn.
Luka Doncic leading scorer in the NBA
The leading scorer in the NBA so far is Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. He is averaging 36.0 points per game for his team. As of late Sunday night, Doncic is the second favorite for the MVP award in the NBA this season with bet365 (+300). Other league leaders are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Donovan Mitchell.
Los Angeles Lakers continue to struggle
The LA Lakers, following action on November 6th, are just 2-7 to start the season. The Lakers lost at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-100 on Sunday afternoon. The supporting cast behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis has not really arrived consistently for LA so far this season. LA seemed to turn the page on a bad start when they beat both Denver and New Orleans, two pretty good teams this season. However, the Sunday loss to Cleveland followed a Friday-night loss to the Utah Jazz. Both games saw the visiting team post 14-point spreads en route to victory.
