Raptors on pace for 82-0.
Amir Johnson, PF Shot Chart 31 MIN | 7-15 FG | 2-2 FT | 10 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 4 BLK | 0 TO | 16 PTS | -2You da real MVP. A healthy, spry Amir was everywhere on both ends of the court. He crashed the glass hard and smartly positioned himself on the floor to take pressure off his teammates. A beast defensively too, effectively containing both Horford and Millsap. A tremendous effort. | |||||||||
Terrence Ross, SF Shot Chart 28 MIN | 5-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 13 PTS | -4Lost Korver a few times around screens, but he looked confident in his shot and stayed within his game. It’s a positive sign to see him rebound from his rather awful preseason showing. Cutting down on ball-handling and playmaking responsibilities was the key. | |||||||||
Jonas Valanciunas, C Shot Chart 21 MIN | 4-5 FG | 9-10 FT | 8 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 17 PTS | +3An extremely strong showing, especially against the Hawks’ smallball lineups. He kept his hands high, making himself open when rolling to the basket. The Hawks had no answer his size, and had to settle for fouling him. He would have easily cracked 20 points if a few more of his looks dropped. | |||||||||
Kyle Lowry, PG Shot Chart 34 MIN | 3-11 FG | 5-7 FT | 6 REB | 10 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | -6Kept the offense humming, looked for his teammates, and took charge when necessary. This is the Kyle Lowry we know and love. Couldn’t keep Teague in check, though. The quickness was too much to handle. | |||||||||
DeMar DeRozan, SG Shot Chart 34 MIN | 4-16 FG | 7-10 FT | 11 REB | 3 AST | 6 STL | 0 BLK | 5 TO | 15 PTS | +2On one hand, he got shafted by the referees. No question about that. But the constant pouting and forcing of the offense was a terrible look. On a key possession down the stretch, he got hacked, didn’t get the foul, and complained about the call for the entire possession. His man subsequently knocked down an absolutely wide-open triple. More on him below. His defense was strong, though. | |||||||||
Tyler Hansbrough, PF Shot Chart 20 MIN | 2-2 FG | 1-1 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | -1 The boxscore lies, sometimes. Hansbrough’s energy on defense was key. Surprisingly, he was the first big off the bench after Jonas picked up two fouls, but he held down the paint, crashing the glass and making smart rotations. Good stuff for Hansbrough. | |||||||||
James Johnson, PF Shot Chart 14 MIN | 0-2 FG | 2-2 FT | 0 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 2 PTS | +2Stop dribbling. Don’t ever dribble. Otherwise looked good, albeit a little over-active defensively. | |||||||||
Patrick Patterson, PF Shot Chart 23 MIN | 3-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | +8Passed up way too many open looks from deep. He struggled with his shot, but the ball is designed to find him open on the perimeter, so there are shots he simply has to take. Smart rotations defensively. | |||||||||
Greivis Vasquez, PG Shot Chart 17 MIN | 5-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 12 PTS | +13A lot of YOLO type shots, but that’s just how we like him. Nailed a pair of triples in the span of 10 seconds to balloon the lead for the Raptors in the second quarter. Also put in an impressive stint inbetween the third and fourth quarters to give the Raptors a lead they almost blew. | |||||||||
Louis Williams, SG Shot Chart 15 MIN | 3-8 FG | 1-1 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 8 PTS | +6He’s a shot maker. That’s what he’s here for. His chemistry with Vasquez looked much better than it was in preseason. | |||||||||
Dwane Casey Managed the rotation well. Coerced good production from the bench, especially with the two-guard lineups featuring Vasquez and Williams. As a result, the starters were fresh to close the game. Used timeouts well when DeRozan was hot at the refs. |
Five Things We Saw
- DeRozan struggled to score in the first half, but he found ways to contribute defensively, which is a very positive sign. The knock on DeRozan has centered on his one-dimensionality. With the Hawks gameplanning for his drives, DeRozan understandably struggled to get any clean looks and forced more than a few bad looks. But the fact that DeRozan still found a way to impact the game speaks to his development.
- Kyle Korver burned the Raptors in the first half because the Hawks’ system fits him perfectly. He’s always the beneficiary on kickouts, feasting off the defensive chaos generated from multiple pick-and-rolls. Like Zach Lowe said, Korver is Atlanta’s not-so-secret star.
- How about those calls? The whistle DeRozan and Hansbrough got was ridiculous. On one possession, Bazemore hooked Hansbrough’s arm and pulled him to the ground on a loose ball, and Hansbrough was the one tabbed for the foul. No love, none whatsoever.
- Unexpected twist: The Raptors’ frontcourt outplayed their counterparts.
- Don’t freak out about the fourth quarter mini-meltdown. The Hawks started nailing three-pointers and the Raptors had a few bounces that went against them on offense. Process over results.