The Toronto Raptors have NBA games to play as they fight for the playoffs, but that's not the only thing on their plate right now. Their scouting department has to be locked into the NCAA Tournament, as March Madness provides a perfect opportunity to see top draft prospects compete against the best competition under the most pressure.
And as a personal gift to the Raptors, the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Alabama Crimson Tide are in line to face off head-to-head in the second round of the newly-revealed March Madness bracket. That will provide Toronto the perfect opportunity to see two first-round point guards compete against each other in Alabama's Labaron Philon and Texas Tech's Christian Anderson.
Toronto is wobbling its way through the back half of the season, slowly slipping down the standings but not outright falling apart, either. That will likely place them smack dab in the middle of the first round with a roster already well-stocked with depth.
Toronto could draft a point guard
The Raptors could pursue a pure center to begin preparing a replacement for Jakob Poeltl, but the draft is not flush with top center prospects. On the contrary, the depth at point guard runs deep, and that could push some high-upside players down the board, allowing the Raptors to snag a lottery talent from lower in the draft order.
Jamal Shead is a defensive ace as the backup point guard but isn't enough of a playmaker to run an offense full-time. If the Raptors want the flexibility to move off of Immanuel Quickley at some point, drafting and developing his replacement would make a lot of sense.
Depending on where their pick lands and who is on the board, they could look at Bennett Stirtz of Iowa or Tyler Tanner from Vanderbilt. The two point guards most likely to be in the mix for Toronto, however, are Christian Anderson and Labaron Philon.
Philon vs Anderson
Philon was projected as a late first-round pick in last year's draft but returned to school for his sophomore season. That was absolutely the right call, as he will go much earlier this year after an All-SEC season. He is averaging 21.7 points, 4.7 assists and shooting 40.2 percent from 3-point range for the Crimson Tide.
Christian Anderson is on the other side carrying a Red Raiders team that lost its best player, JT Toppin, a few weeks back. He has exploded since then, raising his season averages to 18.9 points, 7.6 assists and hitting an insane 3.4 triples per game at 42.5 percent. He is rising up draft boards as more and more NBA teams lock into what he is doing for Texas Tech.
It is always beneficial to see NBA prospects match up against other NBA prospects, but to have a positional showdown like this will be truly special -- and clearly beneficial for the Raptors. They shouldn't base their decision on one game...but this game will matter more than most.
It may not happen; either team could be upset in the first round -- it is March Madness after all. Both are favorites, however, and if they advance they will set up a key showdown between two similarly-matched teams with two similarly-skilled sophomore point guards.
Winner heads north?