Casey was discussing the forthcoming adversity on this trip as if it was an inevitability, not a mere possibility, and that is understandable. Western road trips have derailed entire seasons before for the Raptors — notably in 2012, when the Raptors went 0-5 and lost two starters to long-term injuries during a murderous December jaunt. The Raptors should catch a few breaks: Denver will be without swingman Danilo Gallinari because of a knee injury, Portland will be without starting centre Robin Lopez because of a broken hand and Golden State might be without Andrew Bogut because of his own knee ailment. However, as pointed out by Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez, Toronto cannot be truly judged without DeMar DeRozan, who is unlikely to return from his groin injury during this trip. Of course, injuries happen during a season. Thanks to the way they have handled the softer part of their schedule, the Raptors have a cushion to work with. “If something happens where we don’t come out [with wins], let’s learn from it, continue to grow and move forward,” Casey said. “We are a growing team and we are going to hit rough spots in the road. It hasn’t hit yet but it has in certain games and in certain areas, like tonight [with] our [poor] rebounding in the first half.”
If there was a concern in this one it came early when James Johnson, who was filling in for Landry Fields in the starting five, got two early fouls and had to come out. Fields, who failed to pass the secondary concussion test and therefore was ruled out of the game, would normally just go back in the game when the ultra-aggressive Johnson’s fouls started to add up. But without him, coach Dwane Casey had to mess with this rotation and while it didn’t wind up coming back to bite him, it certainly highlighted the need to have both Johnson and Fields healthy. “My fears came true,” Casey said. “That’s why Landry is so crucial to us in these situations. Landry does a good job when he’s in there but it also (a critical time) for JJ. He’s such an aggressive player but he just has to be smart in those situations.” Casey got through the rest of the first quarter and a good chunk of the second before it was safe to go back to Johnson and order was restored but other than that the game held very little in the way of suspense. Much of that is because the Knicks just aren’t a very good team right now.
The direction of an NBA franchise rarely hinges so profoundly on a non-move made in December. It happens during a few minutes in mid-May in New Jersey during the lottery, but it’s usually the moves you make that define you instead of the ones that end up in the trash bin of what-ifs. Trading away Rudy Gay a year ago, who was using a higher percentage of his team’s possessions than Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony, gave both Lowry and DeMar DeRozan the ability to have the ball more, while giving Terrence Ross substantially more minutes as a complementary piece. The Raptors also bolstered a thin bench with the pieces they acquired from the Sacramento Kings in Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, Chuck Hayes and John Salmons. Vasquez was re-signed in the offseason and Salmons was flipped to acquire bench scorer extraordinaire Lou Williams. In the days following the Gay trade, Ujiri was eagerly prepared to double-down on rebuilding the Raptors by trading away Lowry to the New York Knicks. The Raptors didn’t appear to be a playoff team and Ujiri was still just six months into his demolition phase after inheriting Bryan Colangelo’s roster and also his coach in Dwane Casey. If Lowry was traded, firing Casey or simply letting him play out the final season of his contract was undoubtedly coming next.
A rookie head coach and a rookie general manager are trying to install an offence that relies on high basketball IQs and reading and reacting; it’s as if the Knicks, in that regard, are a bit illiterate and under sedation. And watching Calderon — a master at running a high screen-and-roll offence — have to work with the likes of Cole Aldrich, Jason Smith, Sam Dalembert and Quincy Acy is to see a shell of the point guard who’s won world championships and Olympic medals. It’s eating at him. Hard. Now in his 10th NBA season, he knows one of his roles has to be as a leader to a team that needs it, but he can’t do it alone. “I can help, but at the end of the day we’ve got to help each other out there,” he said. “It’s not about just talking. It’s not about doing the stuff. It’s finishing games. It’s playing 48 (minutes).
“I’m ready for it,” Dwane Casey insisted. “We should be ready because we’ve been preaching it. Everyone’s all excited but reality is real and we have to be ready for adversity, whenever it hits. You go into it with positive vibes, ready to kick some behind but when adversity hits that’s when you find out how close we are and how we have to stick together.” The trip begins with a visit to Chicago – their only Eastern Conference stop – in the second game of a back-to-back Monday. They’ll have three days off for Christmas before heading out West, where they’ll face the Clippers, Nuggets, Trail Blazers, Warriors and Suns as the ACC hosts the world junior hockey championship. Toronto’s opponents during their most recent six-game winning streak entered Sunday’s games with a combined record of 43-123 (.259). The six teams they’ll face on this coming road trip are 106-55 (.658), while the Raptors have an all-time record of 42-80 (.344) in the buildings they’ll be visiting. “Tomorrow will be a game that lets us know where we are in the league,” Casey said of Monday’s match-up with the Bulls, a team that defeated Toronto 100-93 last month. “We’re one of the top teams, we are in that group but tomorrow night we have to show where we fit in that sphere.”
Raptors bank easy win with true test on horizon | Sportsnet.ca
At no point did the Knicks lead, and the 10-point victory is deceptive as the Raptors were actually up much larger than that and would’ve won more convincingly had they not gone on cruise control for the entirety of the fourth quarter. Defensively, Sunday wasn’t the Raptors’ best effort, but in what has been the norm this season, it was good enough to allow what is a devastatingly balanced Raptors’ offence to do the rest. Every Toronto starter reached double-digit scoring except for Amir Johnson, while Lou Williams and Greivis Vasquez both eclipsed 20 off the bench. Kyle Lowry, in particular, was impressive, shooting an ultra-efficient 7-of-12 from the field and dropping nine dimes, further bolstering his MVP candidacy. By comparison, when Lowry faced the Knicks in New York, he needed 19 shots to reach 21 points. With the win, the Raptors racked off their sixth straight games and continued their excellent play against lesser opponents, improving to 15-2 against teams under .500. This is the kind of padding that can only help, particularly with a tough road trip on the way to ring in the New Year.
Knicks Sleepwalk Through Loss as Nightmare Continues | NYTimes.com
“There were too many closeouts with hands down,” he said, “not really closing out in a way to run a guy off a shot and make him miss, as opposed to hoping that he’ll miss.” Some of this, Fisher said, was probably the result of fatigue, with the Knicks playing their second game in two days, an afternoon game after a night game, one at home and one on the road. It was notable, therefore, to see Anthony, who has missed two games this season because of a stubbornly sore left knee, playing a game-high 38 minutes, many of them when the result seemed secure. Anthony played just over 40 minutes Saturday night in a loss to the Suns at Madison Square Garden. “I’m feeling it now,” Anthony said Sunday after easing his body out of the trainer’s room. “That’s why I took a little bit longer to come out and speak to you guys.”
Knicks’ Bargnani close to return, intends to remain in NBA | New York Post
“As soon as I’ll be able, I’ll be back,’’ Bargnani said. “For now it’s been so many games. It’s really frustrating to sit out. I can’t wait to be back to try to help the team. As soon as I’m going to clear, I’ll be able to play.’’ Bargnani was taken aback by a question on whether he’d prefer Europe to the NBA next season when his contract expires July 1. “[You] ask me if I still want to be playing in the NBA?’’ Bargnani said. “Why wouldn’t I? Because [I’m] homesick? I love playing in the NBA. But my focus is on getting back.’’ The former No. 1 overall pick hasn’t played since the preseason opener because of a hamstring strain and then a calf strain. He’s waiting for clearance from the medical staff.
Knicks keep on crashing, fall 20 games below .500 | New York Post
The Knicks — a club that has forgotten how to win — did not get within single-digits in the game’s final 20 minutes. Anthony was pulled with 6:06 left, down 18. “You can see it, sense it and feel it,’’ Anthony said. “We make a run, then they make a run and you can feel the deflation within the team.’’ The Knicks were severely shorthanded, missing Amar’e Stoudemire for the second straight game as well as J.R. Smith (small plantar fasciitis tear) and Iman Shumpert (dislocated shoulder). Stoudemire didn’t make the trip because he was resting his knees on “a recovery day,’’ as the team stated. Stoudemire’s absence loomed even larger when center Samuel Dalembert got tossed 1:01 into the third quarter for throwing an elbow to the head of Toronto’s Jonas Valanciunas.
Raptors 118, Knicks 108: “The opposite of yesterday. Boring.” | Posting and Toasting
The Knicks didn’t quite get blown out of the water, and they didn’t quite compete. They just lagged 10-20 points behind the Raptors for most of Sunday afternoon’s game, allowing anything resembling a run to get shot down by open Toronto three-pointers. Like xcdudesquad, this game had none of the morally victorious charm of the loss to the Suns.
5-Star Review: Inevitable Knicks, invincible Raptors | CBSSports.com
When the Raptors slacked off in the second quarter, Casey and the staff got back on the Raptors about energy, and they won the third 33-24 to end all hope. Casey’s done a Coach-of-the-Year-worthy job this year, and it’s stuff like this. The team moves the ball well, and is sound on both sides, but he also manages to walk the line between keeping Toronto playing with an edge, and winding them up too tight. Marvelous job.
Raptors leave the comforts of home on a high note with sixth straight win | The Globe and Mail
Challenges will now come fast and furious for the Raptors during the heart of the festive season. On Monday night, they get their second crack at the Chicago Bulls, one of just five teams to beat Toronto this year. Back on Nov. 13, Chicago big man Pau Gasol dominated with his post-ups and dumped in 27 points as the Bulls toppled the Raps 100-93 at the Air Canada Centre. “This is going to be another test and we need to approach this game a little pissed off because last time they just played better than we did,” Vasquez said on Sunday. “Everything right now is great, and we’re ready for a good test. I have all the confidence in the world that can still do better, you can’t be satisfied with a 22-6 record; we want more. It’s always about ourselves. We don’t want to prove anything to nobody; this is our family here in this locker room.”
Observations From Toronto’s Locker Room After Beating New York 118-108 | Hoops Addict
Something that was impressive to see was DeMar DeRozan pulling Chuck Hayes aside for a quick chat about something that happened in the game. It’s one of the first times I’ve noticed DeRozan being a vocal, veteran leader like that in the locker room while the media is hanging around. It’s probably happened more in practices, on the bench and during team flights, but it’s the first time I’ve seen him do that in the locker room. It was a great step in DeRozan’s maturation into a leader of this franchise.
Raptors Down The Knicks 118-108 Prior To Heading Out On Long Road Trip | Raptors HQ
The Raptors bench got a boost from Greivis Vasquez, who had his whole offensive game on display: shooting from three, using his floater while he attacked the basket, and finishing at the rim. Vasquez finished with 21 points, four rebounds and five assists. The bench, as usual, helped the Raptors to another home victory. Lou Williams scored 22 points off the bench in 26 minutes.
Post Game: Toronto Raptors make easy work of lowly Knicks | Raptors Cage
Letting up 108 points is concerning, however given how bad the Knicks are, it’s understandable that the Raps let up. Particularly towards the end of the game, neither team seemed interested in defending the basketball. The Raps had a hard time guarding Carmelo Anthony, as he dropped 28. Jose Calderon also looked like his Raptor-self, scoring 15 points with 10 assists.
Raptors Crush Knicks, 118-108 | Raptors Watch
It was a boring win, but it was a win and that’s all that matters. The Washington Wizards are still right on the Raptors’ tail for the top spot in the East.
Jonas Valanciunas aka Chewbacca | RealGM
His name has a ‘Chew’ sound in it “Valan’Chew’Nas”
Raptors Ready To Be Road Tested Against The NBA’s Best | Pro Bball Report
“We definitely owe this (Bulls) team,” Amir Johnson said. “They beat us here at home. We let that one get away from us, so we really want to get this win. Especially (because) we got this little Christmas break (and it would) just make it a lot better.” “We still got a bad taste in our mouth about the last time,” James Johnson said. “Hopefully we can figure some things out. We are not the same team we were when we played them the first time. I think we’ve improved and our half court offense, we are executing it pretty well right now.” “We need to approach this game a little pissed off because last time they just played better than we did, so we got to really show a different team tomorrow,” Greivis Vasquez said. “It is important that we play good teams. This is really going to test our character. We haven’t really faced adversity and everything right now is great, but I think we are ready for a really good test. “Tomorrow is a playoff game for us.”
Raps’ Johnson didn’t need help, but got it | Toronto Sun
Chuck Hayes was the first Raptor in Drummond’s face, pointing his finger under the Piston’s nose and suggesting, in no uncertain terms, that a repeat performance would be costly. “We are a hard-fighting team, but we are not dirty,” Hayes said. “With DeMar (DeRozan) out and uncertain about the status of Landry (Fields who was in the locker room getting the back of his head stitched up after a fall) we couldn’t lose no more bodies. J.J. is my guy, but I would do that for anybody. You just can’t push my guy down and not feel no pressure.” When it appeared that Drummond’s teammate, Greg Monroe, was going to enter the fray, Patrick Patterson arrived to have Hayes’ back. Both were hit with technical fouls, which will cost them $2,500 apiece but the message was delivered and order quickly restored.
Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls: Monday NBA game preview | Toronto Star
Derrick Rose has missed two games with a flu bug but is expected to be back in the lineup Monday. Same with Chicago’s Taj Gibson, who has been sidelined as well. . . . The Bulls are a pedestrian 5-5 at home and 12-4 on the road. . . . Toronto’s Landry Fields will have another test under the NBA’s concussion protocol to determine if he can play. . . . The outing begins a season-high six-game road trip for the Raptors, but it’s broken up by four days of no games over Christmas.
Raptors-Bulls Preview | Yahoo Sports
Chicago managed to disrupt Toronto’s offense at the Air Canada Centre on Nov. 13, holding the Raptors to a season-worst 39.3 percent mark from the field in a 100-93 win. Pau Gasol led the way with 27 points and 11 rebounds while Jimmy Butler added 21 points, nine boards and six assists. The Bulls are 13-2 when they hold opponents to fewer than 100 points – a feat they’ve accomplished in each of their last four games, most recently in a 103-97 win at Memphis on Friday.
Toronto Raptors vs. Chicago Bulls: Game Preview, Prediction | RantSports
The Bulls have struggled to remain healthy, as Rose (who is a game-time decision for tonight’s match), Taj Gibson, Gasol and Noah have all battled a variety of injuries so far this year. But so far, the Bulls are in fine shape with a 17-9 record. Offensively, this is a much better team than they had last season, with a deeper bench that has the ability to step up when one of the starters has to miss time. The key matchup for this game will be Rose (if he plays) vs. Lowry. Both are explosive at going to the rim and difficult to stay in front of. Where Rose tends to attack the rim relentlessly, Lowry is a nice mix of clever drives and pull-up jumpers. Rose has shown flashes of his former MVP self when healthy, while Lowry continues to accept more responsibility as expectations concerning him and his team continue to rise.
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