Not much defense was played, but the shorthanded Raptors gave great effort and lost to a buzzer-beater by Marcus Smart in overtime.
Tyler Hansbrough, PF 36 MIN | 5-5 FG | 8-8 FT | 8 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 18 PTS | +8 +/-Incredible effort. Strong defensively, efficient on offense against minimal rim protection. Gave a pretty good imitation of what Amir Johnson usually does. Picked up 3 fouls in OT and fouled out. | |||||||||
Terrence Ross, SF 30 MIN | 1-3 FG | 1-2 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 4 PTS | 0 +/-Was mostly invisible. Didn’t do much on defense to stop Evan Turner, didn’t present himself enough for spot-ups. At least he drove and got fouled, which happens once in a blue moon. UPDATE: I forgot about that ridiculously dumb 3 he took late. His grade should be an F. | |||||||||
Jonas Valanciunas, C 33 MIN | 5-12 FG | 2-3 FT | 14 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 12 PTS | -3 +/-Weird game. Was strong in the post and on the glass, but he kept getting caught inbetween pick-and-rolls. (This is where the commenters slam me for knocking JV for being unable to guard two players at once). | |||||||||
Greivis Vasquez, PG 37 MIN | 3-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 8 PTS | -10 +/-I’m out on Vasquez. I know everyone pretty much sucks on defense, but he’s the worst perimeter defender I’ve seen, and I watched every season that Jose Calderon played as a Raptor. A few costly turnovers as well. Dude was outplayed by a rookie. | |||||||||
DeMar DeRozan, SG 43 MIN | 14-25 FG | 10-12 FT | 1 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 6 TO | 38 PTS | +2 +/-Incredible in the fourth quarter and overtime. Repeatedly attacked the basket and set up shop in the mid-block area. Didn’t do much to distribute but his teammates weren’t exactly making themselves open for passes. Had 18 points in the fourth and OT. | |||||||||
James Johnson, PF 15 MIN | 3-4 FG | 3-5 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 9 PTS | -9 +/-Not entirely sure why he didn’t play more. Was solid defensively and drove it hard against Jae Crowder to much success. It’s the same story every game, really. | |||||||||
Patrick Patterson, PF 32 MIN | 0-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | +7 +/-Couldn’t buy a single jumper to save his life. All of his threes were open and he missed them all. Solid effort defensively and came up with a huge board late, but even if he hits one of those threes, Raps win the game. | |||||||||
Chuck Hayes, C 5 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -15 +/-He played, we saw, he did not conquer. | |||||||||
Louis Williams, SG 34 MIN | 9-17 FG | 6-8 FT | 2 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 27 PTS | +15 +/-Aside from a head-scratching shot late in overtime (which he later atoned for by hitting a 3), Williams was on fire. He didn’t start off so hot, going 1-for-5, but he picked it up as the game went on. Not great defensively. | |||||||||
Dwane Casey Pretty good coaching form Casey. Drew up some sweet after time out plays (I’m surprised too) and did well to manage a shortened rotation. He didn’t give Johnson enough playing time, but I’m not really sure where he would have fit in anyway. Can’t pin this one on him. | |||||||||
Four Things We Saw
- That timekeeper just screwed the Raps out of a win. That person started the clock about 0.2-0.3 seconds late and that’s all Boston needed. Check out the replay for yourself if you’re the masochistic type.
- Can’t slam the Raps for this type of effort. It sucks that they lost and they couldn’t defend anyone, but the Raps win this game 90 times out of 100. The clock started late, eight missed free throws, Turner catching fire from the mid-range, Patterson couldn’t shoot at all. Shit happens.
- But although shit happens, this is the type of misery and suffering you can come to expect as a Toronto sports fan. Let this be a lesson: never, ever, expect anything from the Raptors. Never. You will always be disappointed.
- This is about the best the Raptors can be without Kyle Lowry and Amir Johnson. They’re pretty much the Celtics without those guys. Something to keep in mind for the offseason.