Here are some notes, quotes and observations from Toronto’s 92-87 win over Charlotte:
- When you walk into Toronto’s locker room the first thing you notice is a huge mural/mosiac. It’s full of photos of players, coaches and front office people with their families. Great, personal touch. I think it was Masai Ujiri’s idea.
- Dwane Casey joked with the media that Lou Williams didn’t play tonight due to Father Time. Almost as good of a line as Gregg Popovich holding Tim Duncan out of a game because he was old.
- DeMar DeRozan didn’t like Paul Pierce telling the media that Toronto doesn’t have “it” when it comes to the playoffs. He was openly pining for Toronto to meet Washington in the first round.
- Dwane Casey on setting franchise record for wins: “It means a lot. We are not satisfied; we are not done yet. The real season starts this weekend and that’s what we have been building for. Again, every year is a process. I’ve seen it happen over the years and I have been part of different organizations that have won and we are getting to that level. We are not there yet but we are getting there and this year is another step.”
- Casey on if team is ready for playoffs after a tough stretch following All-Star break: “We should be and we have no choice. It starts Saturday. They aren’t going to change the date. If we are not ready then it’s a little late right now. I like our defensive focus. We’re getting a little bit better defensively. We’re knocking down in situations that we should be. Rotating. Bodies in position. Again, we are not going to change physically who we are, but we can change our focus and attention to detail on the defensive end.”
- DeMar DeRozan on setting the franchise record for wins: “It means everything to me, personally. I’ve been here through it all. I grew here and everything we do means a lot to me. I feel that I played a big role so it definitely means a lot to me.”
- Troy Daniels was on fire beyond the arc going 6-13 in under 30 minutes of burn. He’s making it hard for the Hornets to not bring him back next season.
- Toronto is 30-6 when holding opponents under 100 points. Sticking with the defensive end, Toronto is 25-7 when holding opponents below 45% shooting.
- Charlotte scored the last six points of the game to pull to within five.
- My apologies to the Raptors PR team and the players for not wording some posts properly this season. This season I had commented on Lou Williams not being eager to talk with the media and James Johnson “ducking out” before the media could talk with him. I should have been more clear that this was due to those players not wanting to hog the spotlight and that they were being team players. In no way were my comments meant to put either the players or the Raptors PR team in a bad light.
