Hornets-Raptors Preview – Yahoo Sports
“It would be big for us. We wanted 50, but that’s out the window. We’re going to take as many wins as we can possibly get,” said point guard Kyle Lowry, who has played three games since returning from back spasms Friday. Lowry has averaged 23.3 points in his last three games against Charlotte (33-48). He sat out the Raptors’ lone win in the season series, a 92-74 road victory last Wednesday. The Hornets played without Al Jefferson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Lance Stephenson and Cody Zeller in the second of their current string of five defeats.
Raptors’ playoff fate still to be determined – Article – TSN
If Chicago wins, the Raptors get fourth, regardless of how they fared earlier. “I don’t think it matters to us at all,” said Kyle Lowry, who scored 16 points in his third game back from injury Tuesday night. “You don’t want to affect the seeding. You just want to go out there and play. Whatever happens, happens. It’s meant to be.” “It doesn’t matter,” Amir Johnson echoed after making his return from an ankle injury that kept him out of four games. “We played a great season, we’re in the playoffs and I feel like no matter where we are in the first round we’re going to do well.”
Toronto Raptors lose heartbreaker to Celtics, return to 4th
Offense – C After a fantastic first half of team basketball, the Raptors sputtered. The ball started to stick, we saw some absolutely ridiculous shots from Kyle Lowry and Lou Williams, and it ultimately buried the Raptors. The intensity wasn’t there offensively, and Dwane Casey continues to come up short on that end of the court. 20 turnovers isn’t going to get it done. A silver lining is that Amir Johnson returned, and made 4 out of 5 shots, meaning the Raptors will be fully healthy for the playoffs. Contrarily, Lowry has looked quite bad, and will need to return to early season form soon, or it will certainly spell trouble. Defense – B For the most part, the Raps held their ground defensively. However, there were certain plays where you just have to wonder. It’s as if the team takes breaks at random points during the game for some reason. It didn’t help that the refs were absolutely atrocious on one of the most important games of the season.
It was the fifth straight win for the Celtics, who clinched a playoff spot on Monday when Brooklyn lost. “It’s exactly what we wanted, no matter who it is — whether the Atlanta Hawks or Cleveland,” Crowder said. Kyle Lowry had 16 points for the Raptors, who are locked into the fourth seed and will face Washington. Toronto beat the Wizards in all three meetings this season. “The way we lost tonight, we’re disappointed,” coach Dwane Casey said. “But it doesn’t (spoil) the season.” Boston collected 17 offensive rebounds and owned a 50-43 edge on the glass. “They were crashing the boards really hard,” Lowry said.
Jae Crowder’s game winner sinks Raptors 95-93 – CelticsBlog
The Raptors are far from a soft bunch and they’re a heck of a team, so you knew the fourth quarter was going to be a dogfight between two hungry teams. What we didn’t know was how thrilling of a finish we were about to witness, as the division rivals went at each others necks in back-and-forth fashion as they completed spectacular clutch play after spectacular clutch play. From Evan Turner’s ATO baseline jumper to Kyle Lowry’s tough drives to the rim, Tyler Zeller’s right-place-at-the-right-time layup set up a remarkable last-second finish. With 3.1 seconds left on the clock, the Celtics had the ball on the baseline and Brad Stevens worked some more magic to set someone up to be a hero.
Game 81 Grades: Boston Celtics 95, Toronto Raptors 93 – CelticsHub | CelticsHub
Smart has struggled defending Lowry all year; he hasn’t figured out how to deal with that combination of strength and quickness. But, per usual, he hit a big 3 late and shut down Lou Williams on a couple of last minute Raptor possessions. Dunking twice in murderous fashion was a pleasant surprise.
Amir Johnson returns, DeMar DeRozan rests, and Raptors fall in Boston | Toronto Star
In what had to be a situation that sent shudders through the organization, some groin discomfort kept DeMar DeRozan on the sidelines as the Raptors dropped a 95-93 decision to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night. DeRozan said the tightness was on the other side of his body from the groin/hip injury that cost him 21 games earlier this season, the first serious injury of his long career, and insisted he could have played had it been absolutely vital. And coach Dwane Casey said he was just following guidance provided by the team’s medical staff. “If it’d been a playoff game he probably could have gone but I was going with the training staff and what they recommended to rest him, to not take a chance, get another day’s rest,” said Casey. “I don’t remember what game it was, Orlando or Miami, he pulled it a little bit so that was their call.”
I want to tell referee Eli Roe that nobody is there to watch him point and pump his arms up and down a ridiculous four times before making that call. It’s ridiculous when Joey Crawford does it, nobody should emulate this behavior. But I can’t lie: That added suspense before his crucial call, and it made the final moments of tonight’s Celtics-Raptors game a little more interesting. Roe awarded Boston the ball, and Jae Crowder did something actually worth watching – make the game-winning jumper. That’s all it took to fall out of my daze and realize, yes, in fact, Roe was showing off too much.
Raptors vs. Celtics, 95-93: Celtics Down the Raptors with a Last-Second Shot (Again) – Raptors HQ
As for tonight’s game, it was a case of déjà vu; the Celtics buried the Raptors with a heroic shot in the dying seconds of the game, just as they did a mere 10 days ago in Toronto. The last-second shot by Jae Crowder was a very difficult, heavily-contested look and the Celts had the luck of the Irish on the make, but it never should’ve come down to that play for Toronto in the first place. The Raptors blew a 15-point first-half lead, turned the ball over 18 times, and allowed a ridiculous 17 offensive rebounds. The Celtics played the Raptors with fierce, smothering defence all night long, regularly leading Toronto’s ballhandlers into difficult and hopeless late-clock situations. It was Boston’s feisty and omnipresent rookie guard, Marcus Smart, that led that charge:
Raptors’ chase for 50 wins dies with loss to Celtics | Raptors | Sports | Toront
What it means to the Raptors playoff seeding is that only a Raptors win Wednesday night at home over Charlotte and a Chicago loss against Atlanta in Chicago will secure the third-place seed for the Raptors and a date with the Milwaukee Bucks. Any other combination on the final game of the season leaves the Raptors in fourth and playing host to Washington in a series which is expected to start Saturday. The result of the game was somewhat overshadowed by the absence of DeMar DeRozan who sat out with what is essentially a sore groin.
The Raptors couldn’t get off a quality shot on the last possession, and the Celtics improved their record to 39-42. The victory clinched the No. 7 seed in the East and set up a first-round matchup with the Cavs, who rested key players vs. Boston on Friday and Sunday after clinching the conference’s No. 2 seed. The Celtics won both contests to split the four-game season series, although it’s likely that the Cavs would have won at least one of those games at full strength. No matter their underdog status, the Celtics have accomplished a great deal in making the postseason during a clear rebuilding period with no current or up-and-coming stars on the roster. Second-year head coach Brad Stevens figures to finish in the top two or three of Coach of the Year voting, and Danny Ainge could end up near the top of Executive of the Year voting simply for hiring Stevens in the spring of 2013.
He The North: DeMar DeRozan leads the Raptors into battle
“Me personally, I watch so much basketball,” DeRozan said. “If we’re not playing, if I’m not in the gym, I watch every single game. I watch college. I try to always figure out places and movements and understand rotations from every position on the court, when you have the ball, how somebody would guard you. It’s really like studying. I think I kind of got that from Kob’, so to speak. “Kobe, he just told me what he did when he was young in his career,” DeRozan continued. “He watched so much film to understand every rotation, where he could pick and choose to get his shots off or pick and choose to get somebody an open shot. Little stuff like that, I really try to figure out by visually watching somebody else or watching your favorite player. Then once I’m in that position, I feel like I’ve been in that position before because I’ve been seeing it. I’ve watched it. That’s why I be so calm and relaxed a lot of times when I’m out on the floor.”
NBA Awards Ballot, Part 1: In Praise of the Individual «
Meanwhile, it says everything about the Drakes’ crazy season that Williams, a shameless chucker, has probably been Toronto’s most consistent offensive player. Williams traffics more than ever in 3s and free throws, which keeps him at least semi-efficient even when he has awful nights from the floor. He can play both guard positions and took over lead ballhandling duties when Kyle Lowry missed games. The Raps have scored 111.7 points per 100 possessions with Williams on the floor and 104.6 when he sits, per NBA.com — a huge gap. Williams is a minus defender, but his wingspan mitigates the pain a bit, and it’s easy to find a hiding place for him among opposing backups. Ah, the perks of coming off the bench.
Raptors Hope to be at Full Strength for Playoffs – Basketball Insiders
Teams poised to make the postseason often use the last few weeks of the season to begin preparing for potential matchups and making sure they’re playing as well as they can (while also providing some rest for key players, if possible). Injuries have made that tough for Toronto. Lowry and Johnson combine to make up a big part of the team’s offense, as Lowry averages 17.7 points per game while Johnson averages 9.4 points per game. With so little time remaining until the playoffs start, it’s crucial that the team gets these two players back up to speed as quickly as possible. “We don’t want to disrupt what rhythm we do have; that’s the hardest thing to do,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey told reporters. “We went through it with DeMar coming back.
