At 8:30 a.m. Beijing time on October 21, the NBA regular season continued, and the Raptors welcomed the challenge of the defending champion Nuggets at home.
The Raptors have lost more and won less recently, with 3 wins and 7 losses in the last 10 games, and the 11-15 Raptors are ranked 10th in the East, scoring 112.5 points per game, ranking 21st in the league, conceding 114.2 points per game, ranking 18th in the league from less to more, and having a home record of 8-7.
The Raptors, who are in a state of rebuilding and wait-and-see, now have a number of powerful players coming into the sights of other teams, and Siakam and Anunoby both have good market conditions, but the Raptors are not in a hurry to get rid of it for the time being.
Siakam, who averages 21.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, is still the Raptors' top scorer, and Scottie Barnes, who averages 20.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, is the core player that the Raptors are currently focusing on developing. Anunoby and Schroder both averaged 15 points per game, while Trent and Poeltl also averaged double-doubles per game.
The Nuggets have been in good form recently, winning 4 of their last 5 games, 18-10 and ranking 3rd in the West, scoring 115.3 points per game, ranking 14th in the league, conceding 110.5 points per game, ranking 5th in the league from less to most, and having a 7-8 record on the road.
The Nuggets' starting five Tigers and sixth man Reggie Jackson can average double-doubles per game, averaging 26.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game, Jokic is undoubtedly the offensive core of this team, but Jokic's three shooting percentages are the lowest in the past four seasons, which is a bit regressive compared to himself.
Murray is averaging 18.3 points per game, Porter Jr. is averaging 16.5 points per game, Reggie Jackson is averaging 13.6 points per game, Gordon is averaging 13.3 points per game and Pope is averaging 10.5 points per game. Looking at the starting lineup, the strength of the Nuggets is still relatively prominent, but the rotation lineup is dominated by young players, and Braun, Strausser, Watson and other players have played up and down.
The Nuggets have a slower offensive pace due to the presence of Jokic, which also leads to the team's overall statistics are not outstanding enough, even though they have the second best assists in the league and the third in the league in shooting percentage, but the offensive efficiency is only 9th in the league, and the defensive efficiency is 12th. The fast-break counterattack is not the Nuggets' specialty, although they rank second in turnovers per game, they also rank second to last in the league in fast-break shooting percentage and 11th in three-point shooting percentage.
The Raptors rank 19th in the league in offensive efficiency, 14th in defensive efficiency, 16th in the league in shooting percentage, and second-to-last in the league in three-point shooting percentage. The overall rhythm of the Raptors is not fast, but they are very resolute when there is a counterattack, the team ranks second in the league in fast-break scoring, shares the ball well, and ranks third in the league in assists per game.
In terms of strength comparison, the Nuggets obviously have an advantage, but playing away from home and Gordon's availability is uncertain, and it will not be easy for the Nuggets to win. Neither team is known for their three-point shooting, and the free throws are still among the worst in the league, so the point of victory in this game is the inside impact.