The Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors are playing live on the NBA schedule on Wednesday and the game from the Air Canada Centre starts at 8 pm ET on ESPN and streams online from the WatchESPN website as the Raps celebrate Drake Night up North and that should add some luster to this divisional matchup after the two teams faced off in the first round of the playoffs last season.
The Nets come in after beating this team in the postseason last year and they last lost to the Miami Heat on the schedule. The team has the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road next and that will be a big game against LeBron and now they face off with Kyle Lowry and the division leading Raptors. The Nets come in after getting 11 assists from Deron Williams and he will need to step up for the team on Wednesday.
The Nets are 10-13 on the season and are holding down the final playoff spot in the east and they need to start turning things around soon to help salvage the season. The team is ranked 11th in scoring defense, but they are averaging 96 points per game to ranked 22nd in the league and they need to do more on both ends of the floor. The Raptors come into the game at 19-6 and they have been building on the success they had last season when they won the division.
The Raptors signed back Lowry as a free agent and now that Rudy Gay trade from last season looks genius, as that helped push the team to where they are now. The team is first in the Atlantic and after playing the Nets they have the Pistons on the schedule. The team is coming in after a win against the Orlando Magic and that game saw Lowry lead the way with eight assists.
The Raptors have been one of the best offensive teams in the league, as they are ranked second in scoring with 107 points per game. The team is ranked in the top half in team defense and they are hoping a return trip to the playoffs as division champs will lead to the second round and not a first round exit like last season. The Nets have been having an up and down year and after reports came out about the team possibly trading some players, the team is looking to rectify things by winning games.
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