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 | Amir Johnson, PF 31 MIN | 6-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 10 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 12 PTS | -4For long stretches tonight, he was the only big on the floor, and put in a heroic effort, running the floor like a 22-year-old and making up for Toronto’s lack of size with his rebounding. He slowed somewhat in the second half, which wasn’t surprising given the role he was asked to play, but I was really impressed with what he was able to accomplish out there. |  | |||||||
 | Terrence Ross, SF 29 MIN | 4-10 FG | 2-2 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 12 PTS | -19His shot simply wasn’t falling, and yet he continued to shoot at every opportunity, to the point where I was yelling at my TV every time he hoisted up another contested 3. Did as well as he could defensively against the nightmare matchup of Curry and Thompson, and reigned himself in somewhat during the Raptors’ fourth-quarter push, but this wasn’t his best effort. |  | |||||||
 | Jonas Valanciunas, C 11 MIN | 3-5 FG | 2-2 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 8 PTS | -14Extremely effective offensively early, as the Raptors looked for him repeatedly, taking advantage of his size against Marreese Speights. The issue, though, is that Speights couldn’t miss on the other side of the court, and his lack of mobility necessitated him sitting for the majority of the game. Bad matchup for him. |  | |||||||
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 35 MIN | 8-17 FG | 4-6 FT | 5 REB | 8 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 22 PTS | -19This is a tough game for me to evaluate for him. On the one hand, he scored buckets he had no business finishing, contributing his usual brand of tough-nosed ball and keeping the game closer than it had any reason to be with Golden State shooting the lights out. On the other hand, he let his emotions get the best of him, taking the ball unabashedly into larger defenders and getting T-ed up after arguing with the refs all night. The next step in his development will be finding a way to harness his attitude as simply that – an attitude – rather than letting it manifest itself negatively through his actions and play. |  | |||||||
 | Landry Fields, SG 16 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -18A good effort returning to the lineup after missing a few games with a concussion. He knows his limitations and the ball doesn’t stick in his hands on offence. That’s all we can expect of him, and he delivered that just fine tonight. | | |||||||
 | Tyler Hansbrough, PF 11 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-2 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -5Brought in with Patrick Patterson in the second quarter to try and counteract the Warriors’ mobile forwards, and did a decent job at the outset, using his energy to stay with his man and pull down some strong boards. Then he switched on David Lee, and was overmatched, giving up some easy buckets. Was rightly pulled in the second half in favour of a guard-heavy lineup. Got a few points in garbage time. |  | |||||||
 | James Johnson, PF 12 MIN | 0-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -3He was basically invisible offensively for the entire game, yet was the only Raptor to slow Curry and Thompson with any consistency (early in the fourth quarter). With that being said, the real question here: why did he only play 12 minutes? | | |||||||
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 26 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -15This is the kind of team where we need Patterson to step up, whether it be switching against opposing guards or stretching the defence, and he was basically invisible out there tonight. It’s tough to critique his defence when Golden State was hitting what seemed like everything in sight, but we need more than 2 points from him in 26 minutes if we’re going to ever have a chance against a team like the Warriors. | | |||||||
 | Lucas Nogueira, C 2 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +2Got in in garbage time, didn’t do anything of note, positively or negatively. |  | |||||||
 | Greivis Vasquez, PG 34 MIN | 10-19 FG | 0-1 FT | 5 REB | 7 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 25 PTS | -4The guy is trick or treat, and tonight, he was all treat. Vasquez was the only Raptor able to consistently counter the Warriors’ red-hot 3 point shooting, and used his floater smartly to keep the defence at bay. He was victimized by Steph Curry on defence, but it’s hard to dock him for that; after all, you could say the same thing about any other point guard in the NBA. |  | |||||||
 | Louis Williams, SG 33 MIN | 6-14 FG | 7-7 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 20 PTS | -6His shooting slump continued in the first half, but he smartly changed things up by taking the ball to the hoop against bigger checks, getting his points at the rim and the line and then bringing things back outside. It was a smart move, and it seemed to rejuvenate him offensively – we’ll see if it carries over to the next game. |  | |||||||
 | Dwane Casey It’s hard to give Casey too hard of a time for the result here – he made smart lineup decisions, rightly pulling Valanciunas in favour of a guard-heavy lineup, and called timeouts when they were sorely needed. That said, a little work needs to be done on the playbook – too many Raptor plays are designed to end up with guards in the lane in an ISO-type situation, and that just doesn’t work with Golden State’s wing liability. I still can’t figure out why James Johnson was glued to the bench, either. | | |||||||
Four Things We Saw
- Guys, Golden State is really, really good. They shot 54% for the game, hit 12 threes, and went through quarter-plus stretches where it seemed like they couldn’t miss a thing. They can be hot and cold, yes, but don’t let the final score tell the story of the Raptors’ defensive effort. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t as bad as 126 points against might make you think. The Warriors just hit everything.
- A crucial coaching decision was made by Casey in the 2nd quarter, where he counteracted a Golden State run by substituting a four-guard + Amir lineup and focusing on jumping passing lanes for steals, rather than chasing shooters around the perimeter. The switch worked, with the Raptors even taking the lead at one point, and I’m surprised we didn’t see it to start the second half.
- Process over outcome is a cliche, but do keep that in mind while you’re dissecting this game. The Raptors were in it against the best team in the league for 3+ quarters, and it’s hard to argue that a healthy DeMar DeRozan wouldn’t have impacted this game somewhat, giving the Raptors another wing scorer to enter into a rotation that was taxed by the end of the game.
- That Golden State crowd was really excellent. Circle your calendars for February 27th – that’s when the Dubs come to Toronto, and you can bet both the Raptors and their fans will have revenge on their minds.
