Three Thoughts: Gasol back, McCaw out, and #RustWatch

Everyone but Patrick McCaw will be available for Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors tonight in the team’s second scrimmage game. The game will tip-off against the Portland Trail Blazers at 6 p.m. on Sportsnet. 

Here are three things to look for tonight:

Marc Gasol is back:

After missing much of the regular season with a hamstring injury and the first scrimmage game for rest, Gasol will be back in action tonight, according to Nurse.

Much has been made about Gasol’s reshaped, slimmer frame and tonight should be the team’s first look at his new body in game action.

“He’s looked good, he’s played well,” Nurse said of Gasol. “I’ve noticed some things, some more when we’ve played 1-on-1 contests, those tournaments, he’s played very well in those. He’s looked like he’s got a little better finish on his fallaway and some of those signature moves he used to do. They look good now, but we’ll just see what we see tonight. I think the speed and getting closer to a real game is what’s really going to see if there’s a difference. He should be fresh.”

Nick said he’s planning to go to the so-called jumbo lineup early tonight against the Trail Blazers as he tries to give Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet some rest.

“They’ve got a big team too, so be interesting to see how it looks out there,” Nurse said of playing Portland.

Patrick McCaw is out:

McCaw will miss his second straight scrimmage game tonight as he continues to battle a nagging injury, according to Nurse.

Nurse wouldn’t specify the injury, other than to say it’s something McCaw battled earlier in the year.

“He’s got a little thing we’re working through,” Nurse said. “It’s a little bit of a recurring thing.”

With McCaw out, it’s likely Terence Davis II and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will get a few more minutes to prove they’re worthy of the Raptors’ eighth-man spot.

RustWatch:

The first few minutes of the Raptors’ first scrimmage was pretty tough to watch as the players began to shake off months of built-up rust. Tonight should be a little prettier with one game considering the team has one game under its belt. Ultimately, though, the Raptors probably won’t look totally right until the playoffs begin.