Detroit Pistons vs. Toronto Raptors 2019-20 season preview
Pistons’ Offense vs. Toronto’s Defense
Toronto lost All-World defender Kawhi Leonard so there is no doubt their defense isn’t going to be as good, but Johnson should be a decent replacement, at least defensively. Ibaka and Gasol aren’t getting any younger, but they can still defend. Add Siakam and Johnson to the mix and Toronto is still a very long, versatile defense that can do a lot of switching and cause matchup problems for Detroit. Lowry is also a decent defender at his age, so Toronto’s defense is not going to be a sieve, even after losing Kawhi.
The Pistons have two areas that they should be able to exploit.
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Blake Griffin destroyed Toronto last year, averaging just over 27 points per game and the Raptors still don’t have anyone that can guard him. Expect Griffin to continue to have big games against Toronto.
The other area is the bench. Toronto lost a lot of veteran depth and most of their bench is filled with unproven youth. Veterans Derrick Rose and Markieff Morris, along with shooting guard Luke Kennard should be able to dominate Toronto’s bench. Kennard had one of his best games last season against Toronto, hitting five threes and scoring 19 in an overtime victory. Blake and the bench will carry the Pistons’ offense against Toronto.