The Toronto Raptors' deadline deals mean the youth movement is going to be front and center the rest of the way, and those young guns have a tough task on their hands today against the Houston Rockets.
Houston is hungry to shake off a rough losing run, but my Raptors vs. Rockets predictions target two of Toronto's future building blocks for eye-catching performances.
My analysis
The Toronto Raptors' strong late-January form confirmed that Darko Rajakovic's men are on the right path with this rebuild, but it looks like they'll be prioritizing player development and lottery odds down the stretch of this season.
Gradey Dick will be one of the beneficiaries of that mindset, with more minutes in the starting backcourt and more opportunities to show that he's more than just a shooter. That's especially relevant after the Brandon Ingram trade this week which could shift Dick into a bench role next season.
The Raptors will be searching for scoring options this afternoon against the Houston Rockets, with R.J. Barrett still in the concussion protocol and Jakob Poeltl sidelined with a hip issue, and I see Dick answering the call with enough buckets to hit this Over.
His shooting becomes even more important with Toronto trading away a couple of reliable floor-spacers at the deadline, and he's averaging 15.5 ppg so far in February, while making his 3-pointers at a 44% clip.
Though Houston has an army of relentless, long-armed defenders, that's probably a bigger concern for Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley - and Dick should get good looks as a cutter and spot-up threat.
He was selective against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, taking just nine shots and draining five of them on the way to 17 points, but I expect more volume today. That includes maximizing his strengths in transition, with the Rockets a little less organized without point guard Fred VanVleet in the line-up.
I'm also banking on a solid outing from Ja'Kobe Walter, who dropped in 12 points against the Thunder, and the Toronto rookie figures to get more minutes in the final months of the season.
Walter has gone past this number in five straight games and should see at least 20 minutes again today. He certainly took a liking to this Rockets defense in the teams' December meeting, finishing with 27 points on 9-for-18 shooting, including six triples.
Both teams have been impressive against the spread this year (Toronto is 30-21-1; Houston is 29-22-1), but I'm laying the points with the desperate Rockets here, even for the second game of a back-to-back set.
Though Houston's six-game losing streak has been alarming, this is nice bounce-back spot given some of the inexperienced Toronto line-ups, and the hosts' bench should be more productive after a no-show against Dallas yesterday.
The Raptors have dropped three in a row and will really feel Poeltl's absence this afternoon. It's appropriate on Super Bowl Sunday that the visitors will face a snarling, physical opponent - and picking Toronto here would amount to a Hail Mary.