The struggles say as much about Valanciunas’s uneven defensive development as anything else, but he is not being demoted from the starting group anytime soon, so it is irrelevant. As Valanciunas slaughtered the Pistons offensively for the second straight time, it was easy to see why the team is still high on him. Valanciunas had 20 points and 11 rebounds, but was still on the bench in the late stages of the game. Head coach Dwane Casey does not trust him to play against the type of perimeter attack the Pistons were using late. Offensively, Patterson should create more space for Valanciunas to go to work in the post (as well as opening up driving lanes for Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan), and it has mostly worked out that way. The Raptors score a middling 103.3 points per 100 possessions with Valanciunas and Johnson, and 109.4 points per 100 possessions with Patterson and Valanciunas. Of course, that group struggles defensively, something that could possibly be bolstered by sliding James Johnson into the starting group for Greivis Vasquez if Patterson ever replaced Amir Johnson. (James Johnson has barely played since Vasquez entered the starting lineup, so this is not close to happening, by any means.)
Sunday night against a game Pistons club, the offence relocated its shooting touch and some of its form while the defence, while not superlative by any means, was good enough to get the job done. Jennings’ loss was offset very nicely by former Raptor Augustin, who had a career-high 35 points in a game that will serve the Pistons’ psyche very well at such a tough time. Greg Monroe chipped in with 21 of his own, but the Raptors were not about to let this one slip away. Not with DeMar DeRozan relocating his shooting stroke and slowly starting to get back to the free-throw line, where he lived for much of the season before his seven-week injury. Post-game he was asked if he felt like himself again. “Yeah, for the first time,” he said. “I almost forgot how I used to get to the free throw line. But it felt good. I just wanted to go out there and be aggressive. Came in last night and got some work in, working on my rhythm, working on a lot of in-game shots I always take.”
But there’s little risk in saying this: They’re going to need a little from everyone and a lot from a few. Sunday night held hope they might get the help necessary. As the Raptors swooned it became apparent that they were missing DeMar DeRozan, who proved his value as a foundation piece both in his 21-game absence and in his sluggish performance in his return. The good news for Toronto is that ever-so-slowly DeRozan is beginning to look like himself. After shooting just 6-of-34 in his last three games back DeRozan’s game-high 25 points on 14 shots — and in particularly his 10 trips to the free-throw line to go along with six rebounds, four assists and two steals against no turnovers — suggests that he’s getting closer to mid-season shape after his unscheduled break. He credits a solo Saturday night spent on the ACC practice court for getting him back on track. “I just wanted to go out there and be aggressive. I came in last night and got some work in, working on my rhythm, working on a lot of in-game shots, just trying to find a rhythm,” DeRozan said.
DeRozan, Raptors knock off Pistons | Toronto Star
And the coach was far more calm after his team dispatched the Detroit Pistons 114-110 at the Air Canada Centre than he was after a victory Friday in Philadelphia, because Sunday’s win held out promise in all facets of the game. “I get upset one time and everybody’s like, ‘He’s frustrated, he lost his cool.’ No,” he said. “That’s me every day most of the time. “This is the NBA and all of us are professional. Players know when they don’t give it to you, or they’re not in tune or locked in and playing the game the right way. They know it. Every now and then you have to remind them, but most of the time they know it. They’re smart people, and you’ve been around us long enough to know they know it. “I thought today they responded to the last game.” The response was delivered all over the floor. Casey was impressed with his team’s defence — the exception being a couple of late-game possessions that cause a few tense moments — and the offence got totally on track. DeMar DeRozan, after being held to single-digit scoring for three games in a row, exploded for a team-high 25 and sealed the game with a couple of late free throws and one key basket.
Raptors respond to coach’s challenge in win over Pistons | TSN
“This is the NBA and all of us are professionals,” the Raptors’ coach said after his team’s 114-110 victory over Detroit. “Players know when they don’t give it to you or they’re not in tune or locked in and playing the game the right way. They know it.” “Every now and then you have to remind them but most of the time they know it. They’re smart people and you’ve been around us long enough to know they know it. I thought today they responded to the last game.” The Raptors had fallen behind by 15 before scoring a point in Philadelphia but jumped out on the Pistons, leading by nine early, extending their advantage to five at the half and gaining some separation to begin the third quarter. Uncharacteristically, they had been held under 100 points in five straight games for the first time this season but on this night they looked like the team of old, the one that put up conference-best offensive numbers for most of the campaign’s opening months. “That’s how we’ve got to play,” said DeMar DeRozan, who also enjoyed a bounce-back outing, scoring 25 points, more than double his total from the previous three games combined. “When we play together like that and get everybody going we’re tough to beat. That’s how we played last year.”
Raptors pull one out against the Pistons | The Globe and Mail
Toronto struggled to decisively put Detroit away in the closing minutes. Up by as much as eight inside the final two minutes, they allowed the Pistons to surge back within two inside the last 12 seconds. As Detroit’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope banked a last-second three-point attempt off the backboard, Ross was there to pounce on the rebound and secure Toronto’s victory. “Until those last few possessions, I thought our defensive intensity was decent, we’ve had it the last couple of weeks and I knew our offence was going to come around,” said Casey. “DeMar was going to find his legs at the right time, and he did tonight.”
Strong performances from DeRozan, Valanciunas lead Raptors past Pistons | Eh Game – Yahoo Sports
While the Raptors offence responded after a sluggish win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, the team still has issues to solve defensively if they’re serious about competing for a top two or three seed in the East. They allowed an undermanned Pistons team – starting point guard Brandon Jennings suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon Saturday and will miss the rest of the season – to shoot nearly 54 per cent from the field in the first half, while backup point guard D.J. Augustin’s career-high 35- point night left one Toronto columnist questioning whether the Raptors have an issue containing point guards. “We have issues everywhere defensively,” Casey said. “Sometimes you have to pick your poison as far as three or the tough twos, but we’ve got some situations. In our pick-and-roll scheme it’s not just one person. It’s the big and the small. We’ve got to get better.”
D.J. Augustin does everything he can, but Raptors too much | Piston Powered
Augustin, who scored a career-high 35 points and added eight assists, did everything possible in his first start since Brandon Jennings’ season-ending injury. I still think the Pistons will face a downturn in point guard production (one that could have happened even if Jennings remained healthy), but it didn’t happen tonight. Augustin drove to the basket, taking the shots available as Toronto played him to pass to his talented big teammates. Keeping the Raptors even more off balance, Augustin made a season-high five 3-pointers on eight attempts. Augustin didn’t show much defensively, but curiously, Kyle Lowry (11 points on 4-of-8 shooting and eight assists) didn’t look too interested in capitalizing on the apparent matchup advantage.
Augustin Scores 35, But Pistons Fall to Raptors 114-110 | Detroit Sports Nation
An Anthony Tolliver triple with a touch under five minutes remaining in the fourth cut the Pistons deficit to five, capping an 8-2 Detroit run. The Pistons eventually whittled the lead down to three with under a minute remaining, but the Raptors were able to seal the deal at the free throw line. In all, Augustin was 12-20 from the floor, 5-9 from the arc, and a flawless 6-6 from the free throw line. He also chipped in 8 assists and 4 rebounds for good measure. Greg Monroe contributed 21 points and 16 rebounds.
The Toronto Raptors hold on for a win against the Pistons | Raptors Cage
After a stretch of games where they played solid defence, this was a major let down for the Raptors. D.J. Augustin had a career-high with 35 points on 20 shots. He was able to drive to the basket with ease; Lowry still looks a step slow defensively. The Pistons, on the second night of a back-to-back, were able to shoot 46% from the floor and hit 12 threes (Granted, this is their first loss on the second night of back-to-back since they cut Josh Smith.) There was too much penetration allowed by the Raptors, something they really need to focus on cleaning up.
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