The Raptors survive a bad second half to beat the Nuggets.
 | Amir Johnson, PF 30 MIN | 3-3 FG | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 7 PTS | +4He was a middle-weight in a heavy-weight matchup with Mozgov, and despite that, held his own. He’s probably the best Raptor at moving without the ball and presenting himself, another matter that the guards have a blindfold on them when it comes to looking for their big men. I’ve been saying this for years, the Raptors need to make him a bigger part of a pick ‘n roll offense, because he’s got all the bases covered: 1) read of the game, 2) movement, 3) catching the ball, 4) passing, 5) footwork, 6) finishing. We saw in the fourth quarter and OT just how effective he can be. |  |
 | Terrence Ross, SF 40 MIN | 7-15 FG | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 16 PTS | +7Other than one three, hot garbage. Tried to shoot himself out of a slump in the fourth quarter, which is probably not the time to do it. I’d forgive him for his horrible shooting if he brought even one iota of anything else, but nada. Couldn’t count how many times he got out-done in 50-50 situations and the body language continues to say, “I’m playing scared but to mask that I’ll pretend that I don’t really care”. Also, can’t stop anyone. |  |
 | Jonas Valanciunas, C 31 MIN | 8-11 FG | 2-3 FT | 12 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 4 BLK | 2 TO | 18 PTS | -6Awesome game. Showed up against Mozgov and did everything you could’ve asked of him. Great one-on-one D, terrific rebounding, and good interplay with his fellow bigs. Some of the blocks he got in one-on-one situations were impressive, and did a good job not fouling in situations where he usually hears the whistle. No idea why he got benched. |  |
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 41 MIN | 3-13 FG | 7-8 FT | 3 REB | 13 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 4 TO | 13 PTS | +5Forcing it. Tried to win the game by himself in the third quarter when there was no need to; there’s enough offense on the court that if you take your time, play in transition against a poor Denver defense on a back-to-back, the points will come. Was the orchestrator of too many possessions which ended up in a long jumper. Then again, the Raptors offense is so geared towards one-on-one play, that his heaves almost seem planned. His assists speak for themselves, but against a Denver defense that struggles in transition, it really could’ve been more. |  |
 | Greivis Vasquez, PG 33 MIN | 4-9 FG | 1-2 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 9 PTS | 0His offense didn’t make up for his defense, that’s about it. Got the start against a very athletic Denver wing unit, and used his craftiness to get around screens for that floater and/or pull-up fro 20 which is a decent shot. He fared better than I expected on offense, but defensively he doesn’t rotate or close-out well enough as he needed to in a game where the Raptors defense was VERY stretched. |  |
 | Tyler Hansbrough, PF 3 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +10Why even play him? What’s the logic? |  |
 | James Johnson, PF 20 MIN | 2-2 FG | 0-2 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 4 PTS | -2I’m shocked he didn’t play more, this was a perfect matchup for him and when he did play, did well to take it to the rim and defend Chandler and Arthur effectively. He’s playing such smart basketball that you almost want him on the floor at all times. Good playa. | |
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 39 MIN | 7-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 19 PTS | +1On fire from three. Had some very bad possessions defensively against Arthur, and continually lost track of his man on the weak side. He was being used as the help guy, which he’s generally pretty good at. Expended a lot of energy on defense, especially on the defensive boards, and hopefully his hot-shooting is the start of something good. Passed well, too. |  |
 | Louis Williams, SG 28 MIN | 7-16 FG | 9-10 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 26 PTS | +6Can we please start drawing up plays at the end of quarters again? It’s getting a little tedious watching him brick everything. Other than those frustrating moments, provided a very valuable punch in the first half and was THE reason the Raptors built that 15 point lead. Again, without the context of a larger offense, he’s just playing one-on-one and sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. Tonight, he was gunning and keeping the Denver defense on the heels. |  |
 | Dwane Casey Relying way too much on 1v1 offense, and didn’t appear to have a plan for Lawson, who was allowed to both shoot and drive consistently. At least take one thing away from him? Bad management of James Johnson’s minutes, who was underutilized, and inexplicably benched Jonas Valanciunas in fourth quarter and OT, while Denver was owning the glass. |  |
Five Things We Saw
- Our defense is a bit of a shambles. It needs to be habitual instead of us picking it up here and there. This game should not have been as close as it was, but Denver just capitalized on missed long-jumpers and ran it back at us in transition to slash that lead, and at one point looked like they were going to win it.
- Casey played a nine-man rotation tonight, and everyone looked gassed. Unless he plans on pulling a Thibodeau and driving his players into the ground, it’s probably a good idea to spread the minutes around a little.
- The Nuggets had 25 second-chance points to the Raptors’ 8 – this is a direct result of allowing them to matchups Mozgov with Johnson and Patterson. When JV was on him, the rebounding or interior defense weren’t an issue. When he was out, it was. The Raptors conceded 19 offensive rebounds, which is downright unsustainable against even a half-decent team. We’re lucky we saved this performance for tonight and not tomorrow.
- The Raptors were 9-33 from three today, in the two other games they’ve shot that many or more, they’ve lost both – Dallas and Lakers. I don’t understand why in a game where Valanciunas is clearly up for it and playing well, he’s not made more of a focus instead of bombing away from deep.
- Ross played 40 minutes, Lowry played 41 – both should have interesting nights tomorrow in Cleveland.
