Celtics 96, Raptors 109 – Box
The Raptors snap a four-game losing and thank the heavens for that because if they had lost to the Celtics, Armageddon was next.
The Celtics are always a tough game because they play hard. It’s a credit to their coach that he can get a team that’s destined for a lottery play with this sort of effort despite the depleting trades they’ve made. Don’t get me wrong, I still hate the Celtics, their fans, their city, their weather, and every other sports team within a 100 mile radius of their arena. Just thought I’d give Brad Stevens due respect, because if you’re front-office tanking, he’s the perfect coach.
After another poor start marred by permeable defense, the Raptors ended up straitening things out midway through the second and ended up cruising against a Celtics squad that was taken to OT by Indiana the night before. This was a game that would mean a lot more if lost but not so much if won, so chalk this one up in the “job done, let’s move on” category. Powered by the three-pointer, a 12-0 run towards the end of the second and a 17-4 run in the middle of the third is what doomed the Celtics, who if you’ve watched even a little of this season know that are prone to offensive droughts like few other teams. The Raptors were up by 20 in the third making the fourth a a formality since the Celtics, despite gas being pretty cheap, were very low on it.
You can check the Quick Reaction and find out that James Johnson – starting in place of Landry Fields – was superb in this one and used his size against the smaller Celtic wings to power his way to the basket, and guarded Avery Bradley limiting him to 6-15 shooting. Tyler Hansbrough’s cameo, despite appearing in the box score as an 0-3, was something I felt increased the intensity for the Raptors after another sluggish start. Any time someone bails out bad offense by keeping the ball alive and getting the offensive board earns my respect, so Tyler’s good there.
[aside header=”Lowry on JJ”]
“He covers up a lot of mistakes. He covers a lot of floor, a lot of ground. His effort has been unbelievable this season and we need him to keep it up. We love his energy, we love his enthusiastic nature and what he brings to the table.”
– Kyle Lowry
[/aside]
The Raptors had 20 second chance points (to the Celtics’ 13), out-painted them 54-42, and were a +5 on the glass. If you put up those kinds of numbers you can get away with shaky guard shooting, as the Raptors did – Lowry, Vasquez, and Williams were a combined 15-39 for 38%. The rest of the team was 50%, and by rest I mainly mean Jonas Valanciunas (7-11, 15 points), James Johnson (7-12, 15 points), Amir Johnson (6-10, 15 points), and Patrick Patterson (4-7, 10 points).
You can’t ready much from a game like this, given the opponent and their circumstance, though a couple trends emerged that are worth a mention and might be something that tickles Dwane Casey going forward.
In the midst of all the talk about going small, getting murdered on the boards, and shooting aggravating long jumpers, Casey may have stumbled upon a lineup that may be more sustainable. I’m referring to the front-court of James Johnson, Patrick Patterson, and Jonas Valanciunas, featured in the second and third quarters where the Raptors were a huge plus.
I like it for a few reasons. First, you get defense at the three through Johnson, who doesn’t neglect rebounding, provides a post-up game and does this more consistently than Ross. You lose out on the three-point shooting Ross brings, but there’s enough of that with whoever the two guards are on the floor. Second, it keeps Jonas Valanciunas on the court as a rebounder, and if he does come out to help, Johnson or Patterson are mobile enough to make a rotation down low, much more so than when Casey’s got three guards out there or when the crocked Amir Johnson is playing.
Third, having Valanciunas and Johnson on the court relieves some of the pressure of rebounding from Patterson, who can be more engaged on playing defense rather than having half a mind on boxing out midway through every possession. Fourth, when the guards do inevitably jack up shots, there’s increased rebounding on the floor to get offensive rebounds. Fifth, there’s enough offense in those three that you’re not solely dependent on guard scoring.
The key component in all this is that Jonas Valanciunas is on the floor. The Raptors usually throw him a couple bones early and he executes a few post-ups, and when the pace of the game increases, Casey goes away from him. In this game he stuck with him which was surprising because Valanciunas didn’t fare well in his early possessions, so credit to Casey for not only persisting, but featuring him on offense way more than he has been all season. He had post-ups, ran a side pick ‘n roll, was used as a passer in the high post, played some give-and-go, and even got this to work. Naturally, he was more inclined to play defense, banged on the glass and played big all game, compensating for that poor guard shooting.
[aside header=”Casey on D”]
“I thought our defensive mojo was back. I saw guys moving their feet, cracking down, rebounding, doing the things we needed to do with activity and anticipation.”
– Dwane Casey
[/aside]
I realize it’s the Celtics who feature Tyler Zeller and Jared Sullinger, so again, the opponent isn’t great. That doesn’t render the idea of having a bigger front court out there void, and using your big man a lot more, not just because it improves the court balance but because, you know, he’s actually not that bad of an offensive option if you hone him a little.
This win shouldn’t paper over the cracks because the Raptors still cannot defend anyone (check out this next level over-helping). They’re very prone to guards getting in the lane because on high screens we’re not good at hedging, preventing the guard from turning on the screen, stopping the pass back to the big, or sagging back and challenging the drives. I’d say the Raptors are a 3/10 in every single category and their de facto approach on every possession is to collapse, help, and rotate/close-out. Against a good outside shooting team that is suicide, and fortunately the Celtics only shot 6-18 from three.
To their credit, the Raptors do respect the scouting reports and play individuals as per the book (e.g., sagging off Bradley, playing Sullinger to go right), it’s just that when the opposition takes a mind to getting to the rim, there’s little the Raptors defense has been able to do to stop them.
Somewhat random note here on Patrick Patterson who had a productive stint against Brandon Bass. Last year with the Raptors 30% of his shots were threes, and we saw a more well-rounded offensive game where he read the action and dropped down for shorter jumpers after his man had gone over to help. This season, 53% of his shots are threes. That is a very dramatic shift in his use, and though I don’t particularly like it, he’s backed it up by upping his three-point percentage from 41% to 45%. So, yeah…
Up next it’s the Pistons on Monday who have won 8 of their last 9 without Josh Smith. It’s a game that has quickly gone from one where the Raptors are expected to win, to one where a win would do well to regain some lost confidence.
Vasquez be like that kid stoned in class and teacher ask him a question pic.twitter.com/WMUjh1cPhc
— Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) January 11, 2015
