It is impossible not to see the similarities between the Pistons and last year’s Raptors, as Casey mentioned. They both made a mid-season roster-altering move — the waiving of Smith was less predictable than the trading of Gay, but it was easy to figure out Detroit would try to move either him or Greg Monroe by some means — and they both improved immediately. The style in which they are succeeding is all different, though. Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy has turned the Pistons into a copy of his teams in Orlando, based around a dominant big man and three-point shooting. Monday was not a good example of that, as it was point guard Brandon Jennings’ all-around performance, resulting in 34 points, 10 assists and a dominance of Kyle Lowry in his positional battle, that was the difference. In general, this is not a guard-dominant team.
The Raptors, coming off of a win over Boston after four straight defeats, got off to a rare fine start, survived a tremendous Detroit third quarter, and nearly pulled out the nail-biter thanks to the play of Valanciunas, reserve guard Vasquez, who scored 16 points, and James Johnson, solid again as a starter with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists. The Raptors had been outscored in nine of 11 first quarters heading in and allowed opponents to shoot an NBA-worst 50% in opening quarters — building a 12-point lead on 24 points in the paint. The Pistons had no clue how to stop Valanciunas down low, allowing him to score 14 quick points. “He was 14-for-15 on the night, the guy crushed us,” said Van Gundy. Detroit still couldn’t stop Valanciunas in the second, he added eight more points, but the interior duo of Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond sprang to life and roughed up the Raptors inside.
And Lowry, for as good as he’s been in what is sure to be an all-star season, was one of the Raptors who struggled mightily all night. He had no points — and just three field-goal attempts — through three quarters and finished with 10 points. He had nine assists in the first quarter alone, but only finished with 12 and his seven turnovers ranged from inadvertent to ghastly. It was not one of his best games by any stretch of the imagination. “That was uncharacteristic of him. That was one of those tough games for him,” said Casey. “To have seven turnovers is very strange for him. You’re going to have nights like that, but again, we’ve got to make sure we back him up and take care of the ball. “He wasn’t the only one turning it over. Other people were giving it away, too. As a team, collectively, we’ve got to value possessions a lot more than we did.” While Lowry was average, his Detroit counterpart was tremendous. Brandon Jennings, despite facing myriad Raptors defensive looks, got loose for 34 points while also dishing out 10 assists.
Jennings leads Pistons to comeback victory over Raptors | The Detroit News
Memories of the Canadian flag and being taunted by Toronto Raptors fans at The Palace likely stuck in Brandon Jennings’ head as he bodied up on Kyle Lowry while Lowry tried in vain to set himself up for a potential tying 3-pointer. The anger and determination was undeniably tattooed on Jennings’ face as he stripped Lowry with seconds remaining, then triumphantly bounced the ball high in the air in front of a Raptors crowd he had silenced, exacting revenge for an embarrassing loss at home on Dec. 19 with a 114-111 win at Air Canada Centre Monday.
Jodie to the Rescue! Late Meeks Triple Lifts Pistons Over Raptors, 114-111 | Detroit Sports Nation
In a see-saw fourth quarter affair, it would be the Detroit bench who would leave a lasting impression. First, back-to-back Jonas Jerebko jumpers swung the lead back in the Pistons favor. Then, protecting a one point lead with just under a minute remaining, things began to look dire. As Brandon Jennings was double teamed at half-court, the Raptors forced a loose ball, nearly coming up with a turnover and potential open-floor opportunity. Instead, Jennings scrapped, found possession, and somehow was able to find Jerebko up top, who then swung the ball seamlessly to Jodie Meeks for a dagger triple, pushing the Pistons lead to four. The Raptors would fight back, even earning an opportunity to regain the lead with 10 seconds remaining, but a Kyle Lowry floater went long, leading to a Toronto foul and two clinching Kentavious Caldwell-Pope free throws.
Detroit 114, Toronto 111: Why the Pistons won Monday | Detroit Free Press
Jennings got the better of the matchup against Lowry, who some say deserves an All-Star nod. Lowry didn’t score until the fourth quarter in being limited to 10 points and 12 assists. Jennings was able to get the steal from Lowry in the closing seconds before the Raptors could get chance to tie.
Raptors Hand Ball to Brandon Jennings and the Pistons in 114-111 Loss | Raptors HQ
Strangest of all: Kyle Lowry had zero (as in, none) points after three quarters. And, while he did finish with 12 assists, seven rebounds and 10 points, at times it felt like Lowry forced the action. In fact, it seemed like Lowry was tiredly trying to do too much; his seven turnovers seem indicative of that. This is the story of the Raptors right now. They can look to a multitude of talent to make a difference in a game, but they also can collectively look tired, out of sorts, or worse, careless. In Saturday’s game against Boston it was a slow first half, and a stick of dynamite second half. Tonight against Detroit, the Raps looked to be cruising on the carry over energy. They started the game with a 60-48 half, while shooting 60 percent from the field (and holding the Pistons to a mere 43 percent shooting). Jonas was unstoppable and while Greg Monroe (22 points, 10 rebounds for the game) and Jennings kept the Pistons around, it looked like Toronto’s game. But Detroit is also in a strange situation. “Totally different,” said coach Dwane Casey about the Josh Smith-less Pistons. “A lot like we were last year after the [Rudy Gay] trade. Totally together.” And so it was in the second half as the Pistons charged back, hit shots and managed to discombobulate the Raptors just enough for the win.
Pistons recover from early 14 point deficit to edge the Raptors | PistonPowered
And it continues. The Pistons got punched in the mouth early. They had righted the ship by halftime, but looked significantly less talented than the Raptors. So even though a 12 point deficit isn’t huge, it looked like a tall order to climb back. And then, in the second half, the Raptors continued to look more talented. But the Pistons looked calm, focused, and disciplined and forced Toronto into a couple sloppy quarters. I don’t know when I last saw Detroit win a game by playing a more controlled game than them. Climbing out of a two-game hole isn’t nearly as easy as it sounds in the NBA, especially when mired in a pack of seven teams with similar records vying for just two spots. But the Pistons haven’t played a single bad game out of the 10 (including a 3-1 record against very good teams) since cutting Smith and I now genuinely expect them to make the playoffs. That is an insane turnaround that I couldn’t have imagined less than a month ago.
The Pistons wound up outscoring the Raptors by 15 in the second half. The craziest thing is that the Raptors were still the better shooting team. The Pistons came back by taking better care of the ball (two turnovers to Toronto’s 10), hustling after offensive rebounds (five more), attacking the rim (10 extra free throws), and hitting a couple extra clutch threes (5-3). Despite shooting only 42 percent in the second half, the Pistons still managed to score 66 points. (!!!)
Toronto Raptors show signs of concern in loss vs Pistons | Raptors Cage
The Raptors became the latest victim, falling to 25-12 on the season. The team tonight for many stretches, particularly in the 3rd frame looked like the wounded team they are. Despite a career night for Jonas Valanciunas who put up 31 points and 12 boards while shooting an outrageous 14/15 from the field, the team just could not rally around the big man in the middle. It was an uncharacteristically pedestrian night for Kyle Lowry (#NBABallot) who didn’t put up his first points until the 4th. The Baby Faced Assassin is clearly labouring out there without DeMar Derozan shouldering some of the offensive burden. Lowry went 3-12 from the floor and had little lift on the potential go-ahead layup. Let’s break it down.
Raptors Stumble, Fall to Pistons, 114-111 | Raptors Watch
Valanciunas’ career night was still enjoyable. He put up 31 points, 12 rebounds and shot 14-15 from the floor. Williams had 15 points in 23 minutes, Vasquez added 16 and Amir Johnson recorded 12 points, 10 boards, five dimes and two blocks.
Should Jonas Valanciunas be on the floor in Q4? | Raptors Rapture
Jonas has played in 35 games this season, but has only appeared in 22 fourth quarters. In those 22 games, Jonas has averaged 5.5 minutes in the fourth. This means that JV averages fewer minutes in the fourth quarter than Chuck Hayes (in those games that Chuck has played in). Yes, this Chuck Hayes. Of the 8.5 shots per game Jonas averages, only 1.3 shots are taken in the fourth quarter. Pretty meager numbers for our future center, huh? Some will argue that the fourth quarter should be the time when the team is focused on winning, not on developing our young players, which could be an explanation for Jonas’s absence in the fourth. When the small-ball offense is working, the rationale for sitting JV makes sense. But when the perimeter guys are throwing up contested bricks, getting Valanciunas into the post seems like it could be a good idea. Hey, at the very least, why not try something new?
Raptors’ James Johnson maturing into role | Sportsnet.ca
For Johnson, the Raptors have become a new family; he’s valued for his bubbly locker-room personality and for what he can do on the floor as well. “Not seeing (my family) is the toughest part. I got so much on my mind, but you have to let that go,” he said. “That’s why I love basketball so much. You forget about all of that and everything that’s going on in the outside world when you’re playing or hanging around with these guys. It’s a blessing to have the support of the guys on this team that know I’m not like that.” On the floor, Johnson’s impact has been undeniable. He’s got the best defensive rating among Raptors regulars, and he showed in his start against Boston on Saturday that he can provide a spark at the other end, too, as he finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
James Johnson: A Story of Retribution | Raptors Rapture
In particular, note his blocks. He records more than a block per game, which is just an indication of how key his defence has been this year for the Raptors. Aside from being an elite perimeter defender, Johnson can also show his toughness inside. He can cover shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards because of his quickness and strong instincts. During last year’s playoff series against Brooklyn, the Raptors had no answer for veteran Joe Johnson. Well, (James) Johnson is more than an adequate answer.
Toronto Raptors: The Trouble With Terrence Ross | The Runner Sports
As you can see, it doesn’t matter if you’re using Player Efficiency Rating, True Shooting %, Free-Throw Rate, Total Rebound %, Assist %, Steal %, Win Shares, or Value Over Replacement Player. They all show that Terrence Ross is performing near the bottom of the Toronto Raptors roster. He’s a 3-and-D guy that’s not truly exceptional at 3ing or Ding. He’s really good (38th in the league) at shooting 3s, but his defense isn’t as good as most fans would like to believe. In particular, he gets destroyed by more physical wings. This is a sad realization for me, because I’ve been a huge supporter of Terrence Ross since he joined the team, but it’s been getting more and more frustrating watching him sit out at the 3-point line and almost never attack the basket. I really believed that with DeMar DeRozan out, this would be Ross’s time to shine, but he just hasn’t taken advantage of this opportunity. Now the question comes of what Ross’s role should be on this team going forward.
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