Raptors beat the Kings on the backs of a great third quarter keyed on by Cousins’ fourth foul.
 | Amir Johnson, PF 21 MIN | 2-4 FG | 1-1 FT | 4 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 5 TO | 6 PTS | +9 +/-Full marks for battling the heavier and bulkier Cousins to a draw. Took some elbows to the face, got mangled on a few screens, all in the name of ball-denial and positioning. His defense on Cousins meant JV didn’t have to deal with him, which is a double-win. The number of moving picks he has in a game is annoying, need to cut that out. |  | |||||||
 | Jonas Valanciunas, C 26 MIN | 6-10 FG | 3-3 FT | 9 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 3 TO | 15 PTS | +11 +/-Took a little while to get going with the stop-start nature of this game, and the heavy turnovers disrupted any flow the Raptors had which meant he never had a chance to get his usual dedicated post-ups. In the third, though, his rebounding and defense was key. His battling of Cousins on the boards for an And1 was the turning point in this game, as it sent the latter to the bench and sparked a 24-6 run. |  | |||||||
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 33 MIN | 5-12 FG | 1-1 FT | 2 REB | 7 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 13 PTS | +15 +/-Under the radar yet effective offensive game for Lowry, where he looked to drive, saw the Kings bigs in the paint, and looked to kick it out. The defense on Collison was poor. It almost looks like he’s forcing his man into the defense, except that there’s no defense there. I don’t know if he’s getting his signals crossed with the screener’s man or what, but Collison did not have to work hard to get to the mid-post area in this game. Also, too many risky passes in transition. |  | |||||||
 | Greivis Vasquez, PG 31 MIN | 7-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 6 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 18 PTS | +7 +/-Some huge threes in the third quarter once Cousins went to the bench which were the hammer blows that put this game away in the third. Did have a couple turnovers but I thought he played a more conservative brand of basketball and, for the most part, played McLemore correctly. |  | |||||||
 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 31 MIN | 5-13 FG | 1-4 FT | 5 REB | 6 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | +13 +/-Strong play-making early and off-the-ball movement which anchored the Raptors in a tight game in the first half, and was getting to the line as well. As the game stayed tight, it looked like the Raptors were going to have to rely on him in the fourth, but that third quarter explosion negated any need for that. |  | |||||||
 | Tyler Hansbrough, PF 12 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +6 +/-The usual. Came in, had a few balls bounce against his hands into the air, and at one point I thought he was trying to juggle it. Decided offense was for dummies and went all ape on the glass, which seemed like very specific instruction from Casey who had to be worried about conceding offensive rebounds. | | |||||||
 | James Johnson, PF 7 MIN | 1-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | 0 +/-Snuck into the game in the second quarter but he may have checked himself in. Played well enough, had a nice pass, scored in transition, had Gay go by him once. Once Casey was informed that Johnson had somehow escaped the bench and managed to maneuver himself into the game, he made sure that that was in the end of him until garbage time. | | |||||||
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 24 MIN | 4-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | +5 +/-Stuck on the perimeter with Hansbrough, Hayes, Johnson, and Valanciunas handling the inside duties. Was a late show to the game and made his mark with some threes during that Raptors 3rd/4th quarter surge. He looks a lot more confident in his shot, and watching James Johnson’s recent fall, he’s probably realizing how precarious his place in the lineup could be under a coach like Casey. | | |||||||
 | Terrence Ross, SF 16 MIN | 5-6 FG | 1-1 FT | 0 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 13 PTS | 0 +/-Fantastic offensive punch off the bench. Provided timely three-point shooting and looked confident in his dribbling and driving. Looked more engaged on defense, and although there were no spectacular defensive plays, there weren’t any glaringly bad possessions either. | | |||||||
 | Chuck Hayes, C 14 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +3 +/-Brought in early to handle Cousins and did the job. Almost had a fast-break for a dunk but couldn’t stay in-bounds. | | |||||||
 | Louis Williams, SG 26 MIN | 7-16 FG | 9-9 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 27 PTS | +16 +/-He had one of his games where the shots go in. That is all. His approach to every game is the same, the results just happened to depend on what side of the bed he woke up on | | |||||||
 | Dwane Casey Good use of Chuck Hayes and Tyler Hansbrough, needed to counter Cousins and did. Sending Ross to the bench seems to have gotten some production out of him, so we’re OK there too. No gripes in this game, and even ran plays at the end of quarters. Good ‘enuf. | | |||||||
Five Things We Saw
- Cousins picking up his fourth foul in the third was the pivotal point in this game. After that, the Kings just took bad shots and the Raptors went at them on the break. Broke a one-point game open into a blowout.
- The Raptors shot 67% in teh third, were 8-10 from three, outrebounded the Kings 11-6, and outscored them 39-22. Game right there.
- Raptors were +8 on the glass against the Kings which is impressive, as they’re a good rebounding team. Raps were 16-11 in SCP and 40-34 in PITP. Though the three was going, they mixed it up well by going inside all game.
- Having DeRozan in the game really does add a new dimension to the Raptors offense, because he’s a threat to drive every time and bends the defense in ways others can’t. I was confident that even if this stayed a tight game, DeRozan would have enough to pull us through.
- Turnovers were an issue for the Raptors: risky passes in transition, illegal screens, driving into defenders with poor floor spacing, etc. In this one though, they forced 17 turnovers which offset all of that.
