Quick React: Toronto Raptors 102 Miami Heat 92 – Streak is Broken!

Initially I wondered how long it would take for Psycho T to piss off Hassan Whiteside in the game, however Whiteside played under control almost to the point that it appeared he also dialed back his defensive intensity. Credit Hansbrough for keeping Whiteside engaged by playing him aggressively. That alone was worth his time on the court.

Curiously the zebras whistled Amir and Patterson with 2 quick fouls but allowed the Heat to commit the same fouls without damage. Being saddled with the fouls meant he couldn’t play as aggressively but the entire front court was great at contending in the paint, on the glass and overall. Perhaps they’ve figured out the Raptors will always be the underdog and with their current malaise they won’t get benefit calls the rest of the season.

Whether you agree or not, I’ve seen steady improvement from Ross over the past 5 or so games. His energy and compete level has risen at least to a level closer to what is acceptable. Between Ross and Lowry they held Dragic and Wade in check early not allowing them to pass the ball or get easy scores. When Ross first left the game Dragic had just 5 points and ZERO assists. His shot wasn’t falling but Lowry refused to stop going to him until he hit a couple.

From the get you knew he was dialed in. His first half was closer to the defensive intensity we want from him nightly. By the half he had 9 points (on 3 of 4 three pointers), had 5 assists, 3 rebounds, THREE STEALS a block and was a team high PLUS 20! The end of the third quarter epitomized his play all night, he kept the ball alive among the trees and just refused to give up he got the rebound, then got the steal on the missed shot which culminated in the Raptors scoring. Safe to say Lowry is back! Overall his numbers reflect an even performance through each half which perhaps speaks to why he is the Raptors captain… they follow their leader! He came close to a quadruple-double with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and SEVEN STEALS

When he involves his teammates he is a more productive player. As I input his first half info I note he has 3 assists so lets see if he continues this through the entire game. On a whole it appears he is definitely gaining his confidence and leg strength back as his last 3 games he looks closer to pre injury DD. Case in point his dunk at 10:15 of the 3Q. Plus a return to the free throw line does show he’s playing with more intensity and driving the paint again like he did to start the season. Overall a much more even effort from DeRozan with 6 assists and 6 rebounds plus 18 points. Of note: I was going to give him a B or B+ but the fact he is passing the ball (which is what we ask of him) and going hard to the basket again merited an extra mark in my mind.

Though he made some bad plays trying to move too quickly, on a whole his first half was stellar including the fact HE was the one to close the half on a Miami team expectantly waiting Lou Williams to shoot. He had 7 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and a block in the first half, however he was a minus -4. Somewhat disappointing he didn’t see the court in the second half, but when we are controlling the game on both sides it’s hard to question the decision. I thought perhaps he could have been inserted at a minimum after the 2 turnovers, but I’m not the coach.

Though I have no evidence to prove this point (other than he sat a game after the injury) I think Patterson is still hurting from the knee injury he sustained I believe in Dallas. Still without Valanciunas in the line-up we could see how the bigs work together “on a string” when one isn’t just parked in the paint. From an effort standpoint he always brings it and battled for boards tonight despite being undersized.

Whether you are a fan or not I love his basketball IQ in terms of how he works to get other players passes leading to scores. He may have a lack of verticality but he blocks out and has a calming effect that seems to rub off on his teammates. Recently I learned (via a Bill Simmons article on Tracy McGrady) Hayes was considered the captain/leader of the Rocket team who went on a 22 game win streak. Makes sense now why he’s so chill looking.

Ummm the good: great fake pass to the corner leading to an open bucket. The bad 3 careless turnovers and no assists first half. I don’t think he purposely meant to hurt Johnson however I was screaming at my TV saying WHY GRAVY? You are up by 20 points and a move like this just wasn’t necessary. It could have been the thing that swung momentum for the Heat. Just not a smart play. However, he was also responsible for hitting some shots in the second half on a couple of occasions where the Heat could have swung the momentum. If nothing else Gravy has supreme confidence and swag. Still his minus -16 was a team worst (and JJ’s is less relevant since it came solely in the first half) and when Chuck Hayes has as many assists as you I think it’s time to do a bit of a gut check

Got to give him kudo’s for throwing off the Heat by feeding Johnson for the dunk to end the half. The way Casey was jumping on the sideline it did look like he actually called that play! He never got fully rolling tonight, but I’ll take this effort given he was competing with the team defense and didn’t try to attempt too many iso plays. He gets his score almost solely for passing the ball to JJ to end the half!

Called good time outs when Miami would try to go on a run. There was THAT JJ dunk which seemed like a play call from the bench. Had his team well prepared to face the Heat without JV. They controlled the pace, contested in the paint and battled on the boards despite the presence of Whiteside. If we are going to blame him when the team doesn’t play with focus we have to credit him when they do.