Raptors Look To Continue Mastery Over Stubborn, Youthful Pistons Quintet

Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers during Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round at the Wells Fargo Center on April 25, 2022 in Philadelphia — The Raptors will be out for redemption when they face the Pistons on Sunday, Feb. 12. AFP

KEY POINTS

The Raptors are heavy favorites to prevail over a new-look Pistons quintet
The Raptors will bank on their defense to pull off a rebound win over Detroit
The Pistons need to get better games from their players following the exit of Saddiq Bey

The Toronto Raptors will be looking to get back on the winning track when they host the unpredictable Detroit Pistons at the Scotiabank Arena Sunday.

The Raptors took their regular season series opener against the Pistons, 115-111, in November 2022. Toronto will try to make it two-in-a-row against Detroit, which will be one gunner less Sunday following the departure of Saddiq Bey, who is now with the Atlanta Hawks.

In return, the Pistons acquired James Wiseman from the Golden State Warriors before the NBA trade deadline Thursday.

With the 23-year-old forward gone, Bojan Bogdanovic took the lead against the rebuilding San Antonio Spurs Friday. He finished with 32 points and five rebounds. Rookie Jalen Duren stepped up as well, pouring in 30 points and 17 rebounds in that win.

"He made a lot of big plays at the right time tonight," Pistons coach Dwane Casey was quoted by ESPN as saying of Duren Friday. "He was big on the boards and he was catching the ball in traffic and finishing. He could have had even more if not for the (five) free throws he missed. He could barely walk by the end."

Against the Raptors, Duren will have to push himself even more for Detroit to pull off a win.

The Raptors want to get back to their winning ways after losing to the Utah Jazz, 116-122, Friday.

The loss spoiled the 35-point performance of Pascal Siakam, who also had six rebounds and four assists. Gary Trent Jr. chipped in 19 points and five rebounds in the loss.

Toronto led for most of the game but went cold in the final period. The Jazz outscored the Raptors 39-20 in the final canto, ESPN reported.

The Pistons will have to work on their offense if they are to get over the Raptors. They are 24th in the league in terms of offensive rating with 112.2, while Toronto is not far behind at the 19th spot with 113.1.

That is easier said than done with the Raptors in the top 10 when it comes to limiting opponents. They are giving up only 112.4 points per contest. Toronto owns a defensive rating of 113.7, 17th in the NBA.

The Raptors are -9.5 favorites to win over the Pistons, which are at +9.5, according to USA Today's For The Win. The Moneyline for this game is -477 for Toronto and +365 for Detroit.

The Raptors vs. Pistons game, which begins at 3 p.m. EST Sunday, can be watched over NBA League Pass and alternatively via live stream on FuboTV.