Game #63: Toronto Raptors 104 - Oklahoma City Thunder 108

[ball4life]

The quick reactions are hilarious

If you didnt watch the game and saw the quick reaction you probably would think OKC got blown out

[Mindlessness]

This year. Next year is anyones guess.
Your comment is a lot like your handle.

Bah. I don't actually know how to change it though. ;(

[Uncle_Si]

Weird game. Good fight for long stretches, very rough stretches too. Some very nice ball movement and feeding the post, also lots of terrible, terrible ISO play. Some stretches of slow defensive rotations, some very nice stretches of steals, shot clock violations and good challenges. DeRozan managed to epitomize this with a largely great game (good passing, driving, even decent defence for the most part), sprinkled with a lot of bad, bad shots, a good number of which went in this game. JV had a rough game and struggled defensively early, and led the charge defensively late. Ross was on fire all night long. JJ was great and really held down the defence for stretches, but struggled offensively, taking a few very questionable shots.

Just a mixed bag all around. Still think there is too much guard shooting and not enough post offence (JV had a little trouble early and the team bailed on him until late). Close game though, on the road, not a disaster like many games of late.

Stop being so rational, weirdo...

[The Great One]

Valanciunas the only regular rotation Raptors player with a negative net efficiency

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 9, 2015

[Jclaw]

Anyone catch the game recap on espn? Apparently, we didn't score a point. I know we lost but this wasn't some blowout one sided game. Old story, I know but sometimes it's just funny

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400579228

[The Great One]

Wow, Raps grabbed only 56% of defensive boards with JV on the floor tonight. 77% with him off the floor.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 9, 2015

[The Great One]

We've lost 8 of 9 with the only team we beat being Philly. They have shown no signs of getting it and we play like a d league team. Every man for themselves. Trust me I'm not overreacting. If this was going on for a week or two then yes, but this has been going on for over 2 months now.

Ok. So question what was your expectations going into the season? NBA Finals? ECF?

This team is not build to contend. 2nd round is their ceiling. Right now that's where they're heading, 2nd round exit. They are what they are. An average team that relies on chemistry.

[Scraptor]

Weird game. Good fight for long stretches, very rough stretches too. Some very nice ball movement and feeding the post, also lots of terrible, terrible ISO play. Some stretches of slow defensive rotations, some very nice stretches of steals, shot clock violations and good challenges. DeRozan managed to epitomize this with a largely great game (good passing, driving, even decent defence for the most part), sprinkled with a lot of bad, bad shots, a good number of which went in this game. JV had a rough game and struggled defensively early, and led the charge defensively late. Ross was on fire all night long. JJ was great and really held down the defence for stretches, but struggled offensively, taking a few very questionable shots.

Just a mixed bag all around. Still think there is too much guard shooting and not enough post offence (JV had a little trouble early and the team bailed on him until late). Close game though, on the road, not a disaster like many games of late.

There was definitely some good mixed in there with the bad.

Unfortunately that second half was one of the worst I've seen from JV on the offensive end and in terms of rebounding. He got worked by the OKC bigs and you could see that he still needs to improve his lower body strength.

Nice to see Ross making some shots but was it just me or did he sit for much of the second half? There was a point I was looking up 3point records for the team and then he didn't seem to get another shot off for a long time.

[DanH]

Valanciunas the only regular rotation Raptors player with a negative net efficiency

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 9, 2015

Living in the past - JV had a rough start to the year, but over the past 15 games, he's one of only 3 regulars with a positive net efficiency.

[The Great One]

With James Johnson on court with JV, opponents shoot 58% in the restricted area. With Johnson off and JV on, 66%.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 9, 2015

@45RRyan It actually is worse with Amir on with JV

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 9, 2015

[DanH]

There was definitely some good mixed in there with the bad.

Unfortunately that second half was one of the worst I've seen from JV on the offensive end and in terms of rebounding. He got worked by the OKC bigs and you could see that he still needs to improve his lower body strength.

JV did indeed struggle offensively. But in terms of getting worked by their bigs - yes, he got beat (on some funny bounces IMO) a few times, but overall his defence was great. He had an on-court DRTG of 93 in the second half - no one else was below 100.

[JimiCliff]

Valanciunas the only regular rotation Raptors player with a negative net efficiency

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 9, 2015

Wow, Raps grabbed only 56% of defensive boards with JV on the floor tonight. 77% with him off the floor.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 9, 2015

With James Johnson on court with JV, opponents shoot 58% in the restricted area. With Johnson off and JV on, 66%.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 9, 2015

@45RRyan It actually is worse with Amir on with JV

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 9, 2015

Well, this is all the evidence I need. This guy has clearly proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that JV is a bad NBA player, will not ever improve, and is a foolish investment of resources. #tradeJV

[DanH]

With James Johnson on court with JV, opponents shoot 58% in the restricted area. With Johnson off and JV on, 66%.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 9, 2015

@45RRyan It actually is worse with Amir on with JV

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 9, 2015

Context: league wide average shooting percentage at rim is typically about 65%.

[JimiCliff]

Time to find ourselves a new centre. No worries though, it's easy enough.

[The Great One]

Serge Ibaka and Chris Bosh learned to add their three-point shot and DeMar DeRozan can’t. Basketball is weird.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 9, 2015