Stop me when you have heard this before: the Raptors found themselves down big against a premier team and rallied late to make things close before eventually losing.
It is becoming increasingly frustrating to watch (and write about) this team. They are a known quantity and have been for a while; a poor defensive team with an inconsistent offence that relies on individual brilliance rather than team play. Last night’s 117-107 loss against the Spurs epitomized that description.
First half – Raptors hang around for six minutes, get sonned for the next 18
The Raptors started out okay, shooting well and controlling San Antonio early a bit. Toronto’s cause was helped by some poor shot selection by the reigning champs. Then, things went downhill after a Spurs timeout, where they really settled in and looked like the team that blew the doors off the Heat in last year’s finals.
A lot of the Spurs success started with the horror that is Greivis Vasquez’s defence. From that previous sentence, I think you can see why it is frustrating and arguably, boring, to watch this team sometimes. We know Vasquez is a terrible defender, we know that a screen will render him useless and we know there was a very slim chance he could slow down Tony Parker with any consistency. We just had to watch him get torn apart possession after possession.
His cause was not helped by his teammates either. Danny Green and Marco Belinelli were cutting through the defence, running off the ball to create havoc. Their defensive counterparts typically lagged behind, supplying open shooters for the penetrating guards.
Toronto was settling into their simple, jump-shooting offence too. You know what they say: if there’s one way to get back into a game when you’re down big on the road, it’s by taking a ton of mid-range jumpers!
Lowry was heeding that advice. Check this shot and just take in all the reasons why this is a bad decision.
Checklist for judging “is this a good jumpshot?”:
– Are you open? No.
– Is there anybody in rebounding position? No. (JV was setting a screen.)
– If you’re taking a long shot, are you behind the line? No.
– How much time is left on the clock? 18 seconds (!!!)
Lowry made this, but who cares? I guess when you’re down 20 and have struggled to score so far, you take what you can get. I still think process really matters for this team, and if they plan to take the next step this season (i.e., make the second round), they have to continue to run their stuff offensively. There were other examples of poor shot selection from other Raptors but this was one that stuck out. (Also in that poor shot selection category: DeRozan baseline fades.) Toronto would put a little offensive run on in the last few minutes, but the Spurs matched them and held a 61-41 advantage at half.
Second half: Good Raptors show up but fail to save Bad Raptors from first half
I think some people would watch the second half and say, “You know what? It’s a good thing they kept playing hard. Some teams would just give up if they were down 20 but Toronto kept going.” That’s kind of a crock, though. When is the last time a playoff team just said “well, dang, we’re down big so I guess that is it”? Teams do not do this, it’s really just a stupid narrative to draw positives out of a bad situation. “They played hard” is PR, so I don’t want to credit them for doing what everyone does.
I will credit Toronto for their plans to hit the paint in the second half. Amir and DeRozan had dunks; Patterson had a little floater. That is a Raptors offence you can be proud of. Something you probably weren’t proud of? Their defence. Toronto were on the wrong end of a 12-6 run to open the third but man, did they gift the Spurs some points. Duncan and Kawhi hooked up for an alley-oop on a play that was just a simple down screen, but none of the Raptors picked up on it.
Toronto would hit their stride though. They were running well in the third, with Lowry taking the ball and pushing the tempo. Amir looked great, skying for a couple of alley-oops himself. If you were looking for energy, the Raptors were supplying it. Duncan and the Spurs couldn’t keep the Raptors off the glass either, so when the Raptors didn’t have a chance to run, they were still creating extra possessions (and easy looks) with offensive glasswork. Toronto was down 14 going into the fourth quarter, which shouldn’t feel good, but in the flow of the game, 14 allowed for a little bit of optimism.
Now, Toronto’s comeback attempt was fun to watch offensively, but they couldn’t get stops. The high-post lob passes to cutters were resulting in nearly-uncontested lay-ups and honestly, defending those kinds of cuts takes effort and slight awareness. Toronto lacked both of those last night, and have lacked that for quite a while.
Sweeping the season series with the Spurs was always going to be difficult, but getting blown out after winning the first is discouraging. Toronto has a decent break before facing the Heat, who are struggling, but with the Raptors’s problems cemented, don’t expect to see many changes. They’ve now lost 9 of the last 10. Get thee to the playoffs.
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Quick plug for Toronto-area basketball fans. The CIS national championships are taking place at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (old Maple Leafs Gardens) this week. The CIS is Canadian university basketball, and honestly, it’s decent ball. Carleton and Ottawa are really fun, and Carleton’s got a player (Phil Scrubb) who could make a Summer League roster and turn some heads. If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, consider the CIS tournament.
