They Raptors really wanted to get a head start on their vacation plans.
 | Amir Johnson, PF 26 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 4 PTS | -18 +/-Physically broken, spiritually empty and wholly ineffective. He could barely move. If this is to be the last we see of Amir Johnson in a Raptors uniform, he deserved better. |  |
 | Terrence Ross, SF 31 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 3 PTS | -21 +/-I don’t throw this title around easily, but Ross is just soft. Beal isn’t much bigger than him, but Beal bodied Ross, ran him around screens, pushed him off his spot, out-hustled him for rebounds. I’d be thrilled if he were traded this offseason. | |
 | Jonas Valanciunas, C 27 MIN | 7-10 FG | 2-2 FT | 9 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 16 PTS | -16 +/-Left on an island defensively, but didn’t do much to help the situation either. Constantly a step slow, both physically and mentally. Had a few pick-and-roll finishes, but he certainly wasn’t a difference-maker by any means. I can’t escape the feeling that his ceiling is somewhere between Nikola Pekovic and Al Jefferson. |  |
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 33 MIN | 8-15 FG | 3-3 FT | 8 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 6 TO | 21 PTS | -28 +/-Betrayed his team once more by picking up three quick fouls. One of them wasn’t a great call, but he also didn’t reign in the gambling and aggression. Otherwise, he went all-out and pressed the issue with those patented hard drives to the basket. Given the score, Washington was kind enough to oblige. | |
 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 34 MIN | 6-13 FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 4 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 14 PTS | -30 +/-Whenever the Raptors get into a hole, DeRozan tries to put the team on his back. That’s admirable. But his idea of putting the team on his back is to jack a bunch of long jumpers. Here’s an alternative: stick to the game plan, cut hard, attack the basket and play solid defense. | |
 | Tyler Hansbrough, PF 11 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -9 +/-He came as he went, that Tyler Hansbrough. He was overwhelmed by a bigger frontline which took away his strengths (rebounding, putbacks) so he opted for a bunch of hard fouls. Picked up a flagrant and didn’t see a minute of meaningful court time. Solid game for his brand. | |
 | James Johnson, PF 5 MIN | 0-3 FG | 0-2 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +6 +/-At one point during the broadcast, Jack Armstrong cited the loss of John Salmons as one of the reasons for the Raptors’ defensive decline. And honestly, I agree. I can’t believe Masai Ujiri didn’t sign someone to replace the Fish. You know, someone who can boxout his man, keep players in front of him and get out of the way on offense. |  |
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 22 MIN | 2-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | -16 +/-His intentions were good. He was one of the few players who played with fire, with drive. But he was often caught matching up bigger frontcourt players, or switching onto perimeter players. |  |
 | Greg Stiemsma, C 2 MIN | 2-2 FG | 1-2 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | +5 +/-He waved a towel on the bench from the start of the game onwards, perhaps as a not-so-subtle white flag on behalf of the disinterested Raptors. | |
 | Greivis Vasquez, PG 25 MIN | 4-11 FG | 1-1 FT | 1 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 11 PTS | -12 +/-Barely noticed him out there. That’s both good and bad. It’s good because it means his defense wasn’t atrociously awful. It’s bad because he’s getting paid like a strong bench producer/a fringe starter, of which he is neither. | |
 | Louis Williams, SG 25 MIN | 4-11 FG | 4-6 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 14 PTS | -16 +/-Did his thing. Got hot for a bit and hit some inconsequential shots off broken a few isolation plays. Didn’t do anything else. Pretty much all you could ever expect from Williams. |  |
 | Chuck Hayes, C DNP COACH’S DECISION MIN | FG | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | +/-I’ll miss Chuck Hayes in a Raptors uniform. He gave us so much, including the greatest shot of all time. | |
 | Landry Fields, SG DNP COACH’S DECISION MIN | FG | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | +/-What’s his next career? I think he’d be good on TV. | |
 | Dwane Casey Well, he tried. As in, he tried things that were borderline insane. Like, for example, a lineup of Amir-DeRozan-Ross-Williams-Lowry. That lineup got scored on every single trip down the floor and quite frankly, I’m a little shocked. But what could Casey really do when the talent disparity is so large? The Raptors don’t have impact bench players like Drew Gooden and Otto Porter who can be productive when put into the right scenarios. | |
Five Things We Saw
- This game was so one-sided, the TNT crew burned airtime talking about things like Toronto’s bad weather, Gooden’s beard stylings, the benefit of Wall getting rest for Round 2 and travel locations. This all happened midway through the second quarter.
- Watching the disparity in pick-and-roll play was cruel. Wall and Gortat ran circles around Lowry and Johnson. Meanwhile, Lowry and Valanciunas running pick-and-roll usually resulted in one of: Lowry trapped with the ball, or JV fumbling a pass, or a terrible forced pass by Lowry.
- To the Wizards fans who chanted “U-S-A”: it’s 2015. Maybe get with the program of not being a shithead.
- This is another point about Ross being soft. He had Paul Pierce one-on-one in transition. But instead of attacking him. Ross throws a pass behind him, which gets picked off. Ross is 14 years younger than Pierce and 100x more athletic. But instead he passes.
- Happy offseason, everyone. Check back tomorrow and Tuesday for your 2014-15 post-mortems.
