“We’re taking our lumps right now,” Mitchell said of his young players logging heavy minutes, all while losing a lot. “But we’re taking them with a purpose.” This is a fate that could have been in store for the Raptors. Had they not caught fire immediately after trading Rudy Gay in December 2013, it is likely the team would have been broken up and sold for parts, with a rebuilding process implemented. They might not have wound up with a legitimate building block like Andrew Wiggins. Rest assured, games in March and April would have felt meaningless. And, sure, the last month of this Raptors season is not overflowing with purpose. However, as the Raptors sleepwalked through a 105-100 win over Minnesota, it came across as far better than the alternative. Picking apart a win — and this was a very flawed victory by a significantly flawed team — is better than not caring about a loss.
“They outworked us in the beginning,” Casey told reporters post-game, referencing how Minnesota guard Kevin Martin came out hot and drained 18 points in the first quarter, the most damage an opposing player has inflicted against the Raps in a single frame all season. Martin finished with 37 points. “We waited till the end to turn the heat up and obviously you can’t do that in the NBA.” Wednesday’s victory brings the Raptors to 41-27 on the season, and marks the first time Toronto has been able to string two wins together since the after the all star break, when they travelled to Atlanta to beat the Hawks 105-80. That was Feb. 20, almost a month ago.
“Again, we didn’t set the tone defensively,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. “We allowed them to come out and set the tone offensively. They got in a rhythm offensively and once you let a great scorer like Kevin Martin get going, it’s kind of contagious and the rest of the guys start shooting the ball well. We waited until the end to try and turn the heat up and you can’t do that in the NBA.” It’s a recurring theme for the Raptors, this playing down to their opponents and, while it didn’t catch up to them on this night, it’s a habit that eventual will haunt them one day. That eight-man Timberwolves roster — playing without the likes of Nikola Pekovic, Kevin Garnett, Gary Neal and only some of starting point guard Ricky Rubio, who played limited minutes on a sore right ankle — stayed right with the Raptors all night. Most of it was on the strength of Martin, who has killed this Raptors team before. He went off for 18 points in the opening quarter, a season-high in the first period for a Raptors opponent, and didn’t really slow down the rest of the night finishing up with a game-high 37. The Raptors had no answer for Martin — the Minnesota version of Lou Williams — while Williams himself, despite numerous attempts, couldn’t keep pace, going just 2-for-12 on the night. The Raptors’ saving grace turned out to be the one guy on the bench who wasn’t feeling that great. Despite asking out after playing just 2 1/2 minutes in the fourth, Valanciunas finished with his 20th double-double of the year with 15 points and 15 boards.
By the time the Raptors chase Wiggins, he’ll be closer to fully formed. Asked about it, Wiggins smiled his impossibly wide smile and said, “I love Minnesota. They treat me nice up there. I plan to be there a very, very, very long time.” Everyone should probably just calm down about it for now, and enjoy the fact that Wiggins is the Canadian player of this generation. We have enough NBA players for one of them to be misidentified on Canada Basketball night by the Prime Minister, which is a hell of a thing. And as for Andrew Wiggins, everybody knows his name.
Jonas Valanciunas had a 15-point, 15-rebound double-double in 24 minutes of action. Valanciunas shot 7-for-9 from the floor and has made 21 of his last 26 shots over his last three games. The performance from Valanciunas was even more impressive, considering he was feeling ill and asked to be removed from the game down the stretch. “I thought he battled getting his 15 rebounds,” said head coach Dwane Casey post-game. “I hope he gets sick all the time if he plays that way.”
For the Raptors, it was just another in a string of games where the defence was poor. In this one, the offence did enough to eke out a 105-100 victory over the now 14-53 Timberwolves. With so much hype around the visiting Canadian, it was one big Lithuanian who was the engine for the Raptors. +15 in 24 minutes, Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points, 15 rebounds, and one shiny dime in a dominant performance against a young, skinny Timberwolves frontline. The big man was on the floor for the Raptors’ best run of the night, an 11-2 start to the third quarter that gave them the lead for good after a 54-54 split in the first half. When he left the game, the Timberwolves made their runs, including two in the fourth quarter that put a good scare into a healthy Raptors lead. One could argue Valanciunas could’ve played more (nine minutes in the first half is a light workload), or that James Johnson, the Raptors’ most skilled post-up player, should have played more than five minutes against an undersized and inexperienced Minnesota team. Those arguments, however, seem to be falling on deaf ears. The Raptors also got 21 points from DeMar DeRozan and 15 from Terrence Ross in the win. Kyle Lowry left the game in the third quarter with a back contusion and did not return. His status will be watched closely in the coming days.
If it hadn’t been for a late Kevin Martin miss and a back-breaking Ricky Rubio turnover with just under 1:00 to go, Minnesota would’ve been in position to steal this one. Which would’ve been kind of fun, especially considering the Raptors’ scheming, borderline-tampering ways.
Timberwolves Wrap: Raptors hold on late to beat Wolves, 105-100 | Dunking With Wolves
This was the rare game in which the Wolves were severely out-shot by their opponents at the free throw line. The officiating was spotty to be sure, but the Raptors were certainly the aggressor. The Wolves were within one possession a couple of times in the closing minutes but a forced jumper by Martin that clanged off the rim was followed by a Toronto bucket and a costly Rubio turnover to more or less ice the game for the home team.
Despite Close Game, Raptors Claw Themselves to 105-100 Win Over Timberwolves | Canis Hoopus
Toronto ran the ball well and mainly controlled the pace of the game, despite finishing with a slightly lower shooting percentage (44) than Minnesota (48). DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 21 points, 12 of which came from the free-throw line, and Jonas Valanciunas added 15. Kyle Lowry, whom the Wolves were most concerned about heading into the game, was held to only nine points and left the game with a back contusion following the third quarter. Minnesota held its own in the final quarter, and a few times it looked like the eight-man team might pull off a win. However, a crucial error occurred with a Martin miss and subsequent turnover by Rubio. With only 1:27 remaining in the game, the six-point deficit proved too wide for the Wolves to recover from. Considering the number of injuries the Wolves are dealing with and the talent of the 40-win Toronto squad, Wednesday’s game held numerous positives for Wolves fans, despite the loss.
Toronto Raptors squeeze by the Minnesota Timberwolves | Raptors Cage
While the Raptors held the Wolves to only 100 points, that is more of an indictment on the talent level on the Wolves than to the stinginess of the Raptors defence. The Raptors allowed Kevin Martin to light them up from deep. Allowing the Wolves, a team 25th in field goal percentage to shoot 48% for the evening isn’t the kind of defence that contender needs to play. Rebounding: C+ No team really dominated the other on the glass, but the Raptors were outworked on the glass 45-39. Allowing the likes of Chase Budinger to come away with 8 boards definitely isn’t a winning recipe. Luckily for the Raptors, Valanciunas was a monster on the glass coming away with 15.
Sorting out the Toronto Raptors’ Rotation Ahead of the NBA Playoffs | Bleacher Report
Casey has trotted out 11 different starting lineups over the course of the season, the majority of them coming as a result of an injury. There was no need to tinker with a winning formula. Moving Ross to the bench from Jan. 19 to March 4 was designed to reinvigorate a struggling swingman who was dealing with lapses in confidence. Giving Patrick Patterson the start on Feb. 27 against the Golden State Warriors was simply Casey’s way of experimenting and trying new things. All of the prior adjustments made by the head coach have ultimately led us back to the same starting lineup and a similar rotation with which the Raptors began the year. Change for the sake of change is unnecessary. Casey knows this. There was always a rationale behind every move he made, even if his moves were few and far between. His complacency with the rotation doesn’t make it an impeccable product, though. He’s merely found a comfort level with playing certain guys at certain times in specific lineups.
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