LaMelo Ball leads the Charlotte Hornets into Toronto to face the red-hot Raptors

Don't sleep on the Toronto Raptors.

Although to the untrained eye their roster looks like something from the Island of Misfit Hoopers, they have played well-above expectations on their way to an 8-5 start, making tonight a tough test for the Charlotte Hornets.

Per Cleaning the Glass, Toronto sports the fifth best net rating in the NBA. Led by a physical defense that forces turnovers at a top ten rate in the league, the Raptors love to get out and run, sporting the number one transition frequency in basketball.

Their starting lineup of Immanuel Quickley, Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, and Jakob Poeltl struggles (0.0 net rating in 254 possessions), so expect the Hornets' and their dominant first quarter offense to come out of the gates quickly.

However, Toronto is deep, and their bench mob that includes unheralded names like Gradey Dick, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Murray-Boyles (one of my favorite 2025 NBA Draft prospects) and Ochai Agbaji blitzes opposing second units. Thankfully for the Hornets, LaMelo Ball is back for tonight's contest, meaning every Hornets' role can scale down and look more like it is supposed to, creating a fair fight north of the border.

Key matchup: The bench minutes

Which brings us to tonight's key matchup.

Toronto's bench sports a net rating of +5.0, second only to the Oklahoma City Thunder (who's bench suffocated the Hornets less than 48 hours ago). They play efficient, turnover-free basketball that sucks the life out of opposing benches on both ends of the court.

With LaMelo Ball back in the starting five, the Hornets will have two primary ball handlers coming off of the bench in Collin Sexton and Tre Mann that can keep Charlotte's offense humming when the starters rest. The key for those two is minimizing mistakes as both Mann and Sexton struggle with turnovers and scoring efficiently.

Injury report

Charlotte Hornets: OUT Josh Green (L Shoulder), Liam McNeeley (Illness), Brandon Miller (L Shoulder), Tidjane Salaun (G-League Assignment), Grant Williams (R Knee)

Toronto Raptors: QUESTIONABLE Ochai Agbaji (Back), Jamison Battle (Knee) OUT Chuck Hepburn (G-League - Two-Way), Alijah Martin (G-League - Two-Way)

Projected starting lineups

Tonight's game tips off at 7:30 EST and it can be streamed on the FanDuel Sports Network.

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