That was fun! It’s good to have Toronto Raptors’ basketball back in our lives, and there is no better way to start the unofficial second half of the season then a battle between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
If almost anyone had been asked to predict the top two teams in the East at the All Star break, almost no one would have picked Toronto or Atlanta, let alone both. Yet both have shown why they deserve to be talked about among the best the league has to offer, and each showed it despite some noticeable rust after an extended break.
Both teams showed some struggles from long distance (save for Lou Williams, but more on that later), but that has been a common theme during the initial games after All Star. Despite these shooting struggles though, the game had a great pace and was incredibly entertaining to watch. All-in-all, a great way to kick off the final drive toward the playoffs.
And to top it all off, Toronto demolished Atlanta and turned a four point halftime lead into a 25 point victory. Tough to write much about a game that goes that well, but here goes anything.
The Raptors came to Atlanta as the only team to have beaten Atlanta more than once on the season, and left it accounting for 25 percent of Atlanta’s losses this year (3 of their 12 losses), and 50 percent of their home losses (2 of 4).
Atlanta fans must have left the building last night fearing a playoff match-up with Toronto, as Toronto has by far given them their biggest challenges this year.
With that being said, Atlanta didn’t do much to help themselves in a game that Toronto ended up running away with. Atlanta shot a season low 33 percent from the field, their fourth lowest three point percentage at just 21.1 percent, and even shot 10.8 percent below their season average.
Much of Atlanta’s struggles can be contributed in part to Toronto’s defensive intensity, as the Raptors forced Atlanta into 15 turnovers, but it wasn’t just a matter of Toronto stopping Atlanta. The Hawks missed plenty of shots that they would normally hit, and Kyle Korver was the biggest example of this problem.
Korver hit just two of his 11 attempts from long distance, making last night the first time since 2006 that he missed at least 9 such shots. James Johnson did provide the Raptors with some solid defense on Korver, but plenty of these misses were wide open attempts. It was very weird to watch. I kept expecting him to turn it around, but it just never happened.
This defensive resurgence has been a theme of late for the Raptors after several months of struggling. Toronto’s last four opponents make up some of the toughest in the league, and the Raptors have made it look surprisingly easy.
Raptors last four opponents (LAC, SAS, WAS, ATL) have a combined record of 146-72 (67%). Raps margin of victory is 12ppg. Wow!
— Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) February 21, 2015
Last night was another reminder of Masai Ujiri’s heist this past summer, when he acquired Lou Williams and Lucas Noguiera in exchange for John Salmons’ corpse/expiring contract. Lou dominated the Hawks in a game that seemed extremely personal for him. Williams scored 26 points in just 24 minutes, while shooting 9-of-14 from the field and 7-of-10 from three. 70% from three!!!
While Lou was pivotal in helping the Raptors run rampant in Atlanta, it was DeMar DeRozan who carried the Raptors early as he scored the team’s first eight points. His game was simple and smooth, as DeMar played wholly within the flow of the offense.
Outside of Terrence Ross, it’s tough to find a negative talking point.
If the Raptors play even close to how they did last night, the rest of the season will be a treat to watch. With 30 games remaining the Raptors are now just 5 games back of Atlanta in the loss column. It may be a little bit too late, but the Raptors could make a final push for the top seed.
No matter what though, life is good for the Raptors, so let’s sit back and enjoy the rest of the ride!
