Quick Reaction: Raptors 110, Warriors 115

Raptors hang around, and make a game against the best in the league, but ultimately fall short. Solid effort, can't deny them that.

November 18, 2015 Sam Holako

Toronto Raptors

110

Final
Recap | Box Score

115

Golden State Warriors

	Luis Scola, PF 28 MIN \| 3-7 FG \| 0-2 3FG \| 0-2 FT \| 5 REB \| 0 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 6 PTS \| -7 +/-Played 25 minutes too many tonight. Not his fault since he wasn’t in a position to be successful. Surprisingly, he did more good than harm in the 2nd half that saw the Raptors storm back after all looked lost, but a crunch time three from the corner? That should have been a play run for Carroll, not Razor Ramon.
	DeMarre Carroll, SF 39 MIN \| 7-12 FG \| 3-6 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 2 AST \| 6 STL \| 0 BLK \| 1 TO \| 17 PTS \| +2 +/-10 points in the third off of steals, tight defense (3 steals), and three pointers were crucial in the Raptors turning the tide in the 3rd quarter. With his defensive contribution, this game would have got out of hand earlier in the night.

	Jonas Valanciunas, C 31 MIN \| 3-9 FG \| 0-0 3FG \| 3-4 FT \| 11 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 3 TO \| 9 PTS \| -1 +/-…ok…you could see he was trying hard, but he’s just not built for this type of game. On four occasions, he was very late on the defensive rotation; three of which ended in his man scoring uncontested layups.
	Kyle Lowry, PG 39 MIN \| 7-15 FG \| 2-7 3FG \| 12-12 FT \| 6 REB \| 3 AST \| 2 STL \| 1 BLK \| 2 TO \| 28 PTS \| 0 +/-Two massive threes in the fourth, slowed the tempo, and orchestrated situations where the Raptors were able to stop the clock and get to the line. Curry had an incredible, albeit somewhat quiet game, but he does that against everyone. There really didn’t seem like a plan to slow Curry down any, which wasn’t on him. Tough call on that moving screen; not saying it was a bad call, just a tough one; clearly threw him off cause on the next possession, down three, he drove to the rack instead of shooting a three, missed, then fouled Green.
	DeMar DeRozan, SG 39 MIN \| 9-22 FG \| 0-0 3FG \| 10-13 FT \| 5 REB \| 6 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 4 TO \| 28 PTS \| -4 +/-Ok, so we all know I have blinders when it comes to DeMar, and I potentially overvalue the things he does (I don’t think I do actually, but I could see how you could think that), but games like this are infuriating. On one hand, we saw an array of poor shot selection generated off of weak hero-ball, then on the other, we saw him slow the game down, drive to the rack, draw contact, stop the clock, and stick free throws to help get the Raptors back into the game. Why doesn’t he do that every single time? The final minute was typical DeRozan: on one possession, he forces a shot, and turns it over; a few plays later, he takes it aggressively to the rack and cuts the lead to 1. Why is he so invested in shooting jumpers? These are question we all need answers too.
	James Johnson, PF 9 MIN \| 3-4 FG \| 0-1 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 3 TO \| 6 PTS \| -5 +/-The Warriors are exactly the type of team that JJ should be able to provide a lot of value against. Three turnovers in 9 minutes was just too reckless, and saw him sit the second half despite all the good things he did off the bounce when he had the ball off the wing.

	Patrick Patterson, PF 20 MIN \| 1-3 FG \| 1-2 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 1 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 3 TO \| 3 PTS \| -2 +/-Disappointing.
	Bismack Biyombo, PF 7 MIN \| 0-0 FG \| 0-0 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 0 TO \| 0 PTS \| -4 +/-He’s just such a liability offensively…makes him especially useless in games like this.
	Cory Joseph, PG 28 MIN \| 4-7 FG \| 0-0 3FG \| 5-8 FT \| 5 REB \| 6 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 13 PTS \| -4 +/-Yea… another strong game where he provided steady relief minutes for Lowry. What can you say? Dude is great. I’m very happy we got him, and it’s ridiculous he’ll make less than Ross next season.
	Dwane Casey Despite putting out extremely dubious lineups. Despite not seeming to have a plan to avoid having so many alley-oops rain down on you. Despite playing Razor Ramon 28 minutes and JV 31. Despite being out-coached by Luke Walton (LOL). Despite. Despite. Despite all that, this team was right in till the end. What does that say about you? The value you bring to this team? Your future with this team? Seems pretty clear to me.

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