Raptors continue Charlotte woes, drop tight contest to Hornets | Toronto Sun
With 0.7 seconds remaining in regulation, Lowry did manage a rushed turnaround jumper but it wasn’t close to finding the target and the game went into overtime. That’s about the way things go for the Raptors in Charlotte and no one really seems to know why. “Every team has that one team where it’s always a struggle some way, some how,” DeRozan said at the morning shoot around. “ We just got to try to break the curse.” And the Raptors came that close, but curses aren’t broken easily and this one remains very much unbroken. In the overtime, the Hornets went back to the three-point bombing that they began the game with en route to a 109-99 win. Casey and the Raptors weren’t happy with the officials’ handling of the timeout in question but were at least self-aware enough to realize that they put themselves in that position. “They were playing at a different speed than we were,” Casey said of the Hornets, who should have been the more fatigued team having played Wednesday night while the Raptors spent three full days in Charlotte.
Raptors shoot blanks in loss to Hornets | Toronto Star
Their shooting, for the most part was atrocious. Lowry was 6-for-29 from the floor and 3-for-17 from three-point range and Patrick Patterson missed all seven three-pointers he attempted. Terrence Ross had a Terrence Ross night — he hit a big three-pointer in overtime but missed a wide open shot seconds later that would have tied the game. Ross and Lowry were also culpable defensively in what cost Toronto far more than a potentially slow referees whistle. The Raptors could not contain anyone in the Hornets backcourt, as Jeremy Lin had his way with Ross and scored a season-high 35 points and Kemba Walker added 27 as Toronto’s age-old inability to contain dribble penetration killed them. “They were playing at a different speed than we were,” Casey said. “I was proud of the team, the way we competed late but we didn’t compete early enough. It’s almost like we need to get hit in the teeth before we compete.
Game Rap: Raptors 99, Hornets 109 | Toronto Raptors
Toronto made just three of 10 field goal attempts in the extra session, made two of six three-point attempts, and went 1-for-2 from the free throw line. In comparison, the Hornets made four of six shots, two of their three attempts from deep, and closed out the game a perfect 9-for-9 from the line.
Charlotte Rallies to Beat Raptors | Charlotte Hornets
Trailing 72-56 with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter, Toronto began piecing together its comeback, which started by trimming the Hornets’ lead to just 12 by the end of the frame. Still down by 12 with 4:43 remaining in the fourth, the Raptors rolled off a 15-3 run, including five points in the final minute to send the game into overtime. Despite Toronto holding all the momentum, Charlotte came alive in extra time, getting three-point possessions from Lin, Kemba Walker and P.J. Hairston, which helped end any chance of the Raptors completing the 16-point comeback as the Hornets finished the night with a double-digit victory.
Hornets’ Jeremy Lin and Kemba Walker: As good as it gets Thursday | The Charlotte Observer
The thing to remember about this is it’s not a zero-sum game between Walker and Lin. One’s success doesn’t detract from the other’s game. Walker and Lin embraced warmly after this game, and Walker later spoke to how Lin has made his job better. “When they deny me the basketball (as the Raptors did repeatedly Thursday), he can come and make plays. You can see it in the numbers; he played extremely well,” Walker said. “Hopefully he can continue to be really, really, really good like tonight.”
Charlotte Hornets trump Toronto Raptors in overtime, 109-99 | At The Hive
Living in Toronto, I watched the Raptors’ feed on cable. The team’s broadcasting crew frequently downplayed the Hornets’ defense, suggesting that the Raptors were simply missing shots. While there’s some truth to that, the Hornets’ defense was a major reason they came away with a win tonight. Of the Raptors’ 97 shot attempts, 64 were contested. They converted on 35.9 percent of those shots. Offensively, the Hornets were equally good. They shot 43.9 percent from the field, and dished out 23 assists while only turning the ball over 12 times (and a handful of those turnovers were the result of, shall we say, questionable calls from the referees). Many thanks to Walker and Lin for stepping up tonight.
Hornets hang on for huge win over Raptors | Queen City Hoops
Without Nic Batum tonight, everyone knew that Lin had to step up. I expected him to relish in this opportunity, but not like this. Lin finished just three points shy of his career high and was a nightmare for any Raptor guarding him tonight. The Kemba-Lin combo is deadly and Toronto was put on display tonight, compliments of this duo. He got to the rim whenever he wanted and made some big shots from deep, which quickly threw off the defense since the scouting report reads to play off of Lin. Earning nine attempts from the charity stripe was just icing on the cake for one of the best night’s of Lin’s career.
Lin was the key to this win. The Charlotte Hornets were without Nicolas Batum in this one because he was dealing with an illness and was forced to miss the game. Jeremy Lin filled in for Nic in the starting line-up and had his best game in recent memory.
Raptors Come Back Against Hornets, Lose In Overtime 109-99 | Raptors HQ
Thanks to DeRozan’s 31 points, and aided by the Hornets shooting 16.7 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, the Raptors were able to come back, but Lin’s season-high 35 points, Kemba’s 27 and P.J. Hairston adding 14 points was a little too much to overcome, especially after the almost buzzer beater was nullified. So, the Raptors drop their second straight on the road and now head to Miami tomorrow hoping to avoid an 0-3 road trip.
NBA Preview – Toronto Raptors at Miami Heat – Dec 18, 2015 | CBSSports.com
The Heat shot 53.3 percent while holding their fifth consecutive opponent under 100 points in a 104-98 win at Brooklyn on Wednesday. They’re going after their first four-game winning streak since March 28-April 2, 2014, before LeBron James’ departure. “We’ve won three in a row, but we have a big one Friday,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “The challenge now is not to get overwhelmed with just the result. It’s how we’re playing and just to bring an incredible disposition at home against a very good team.”
Kyle Lowry’s transformation has him playing at an MVP level | USA Today
Looking back, Lowry was always a good point guard. At 6-0, 205 pounds, he drew comparisons to wrecking balls and NFL running backs in his first nine seasons. He steadily improved in recent years and earned his first All-Star selection last season, but when he fell apart after the All-Star break and into the playoffs, the question was raised: was his breakout season just a fluke? Fast forward to this season, and he has transformed himself into an elite point guard. Almost unrecognizable, the new and improved Lowry has left the Lowry of years past in the dust. Not only has he demonstrated increased quickness and defensive tenacity, but he’s led the Raptors to a 16-10 record, just 1 1/2 games behind the first place Cleveland Cavaliers, and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Fixing the Toronto Raptors broken bench no easy proposition | National Post
The bench underwent a huge overhaul in the off-season, with Williams, Hansbrough and Vasquez exiled, and Cory Joseph and Bismack Biyombo (now starting because of an injury to Jonas Valanciunas) imported. Johnson’s role, before an injury to DeMarre Carroll, was further marginalized, while Patterson is enduring the worst shooting slump of his Toronto tenure. Scoring was always going to be a problem for the bench (Terrence Ross, another reserve-turned-starter because of Carroll’s injury, did not help with his own massive struggles). In the 125 minutes that both Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have been on the bench, the Raptors have scored just 96.2 points per 100 possessions, according to the web site NBAwowy.com. That mark is better than only the woeful 76ers.
East a new beast for Raptors | Toronto Sun
“Every night is going to be a challenge right now in the Eastern Conference,” DeMar DeRozan said following the morning shoot around on Thursday. “Win a game you are at the top of the conference. Lose one and you are at the bottom of the conference. That’s how we have to treat it from here on out. You can’t overlook a team anymore in the East. Everyone is playing for something.” The change in the East this year has been dramatic. Going into play Thursday night only 3 1/2 games separate first from 10th in the East. The season series in games where Eastern teams take on Western teams was tied going into play Thursday with the Oklahoma City-Cleveland game set to break that tie.
Toronto Raptors: Can Cory Joseph win Sixth Man of the Year? | Raptors Cage
Absolutely. Like Williams last season, Joseph is easily the best offensive option off the bench for the Raptors. He’s already won games single-handedly for the Raptors, shown his ability to make big plays down the stretch, and has taken advantage of his new-found sixth man role. What the difference between the two, however, has been on the defensive side of the ball. Williams was and still is an absolute atrocity on the defensive end. Williams lacked size, had terrible defensive instincts, was a poor rotational defender, and didn’t have the lateral quicks to stay with his man.
Toronto Raptors: Inside The Numbers
The biggest surprise might be where DeMarre Carroll ended up on here. A 0.65 TVA/Minute isn’t what I was expecting from him after pulling a 0.76 with the Atlanta Hawks last season. Just to back this up with more familiar stats, his PER is down from a 15.9 to an 11.5, his TRB% and AST% are down even with his USG% going up. Was he a product of Atlanta’s system that’s fluttering in a new environment or do the numbers reflect the battles he’s had with injuries this season? I have a feeling it may be the ineptness of Dwane Casey’s offense since Luis Scola’s numbers are also down from Indiana last year in addition to the previously mentioned Cory Joseph. Instead of going on another Dwane Casey rant, let’s end with a positive. DeMar DeRozan’s numbers have bounced back this year after falling last season. His 20.2 PER is the highest of his career and his TVA/Minute is up from a 0.87 last season to a 0.90 so far this year. This is good to see since last season was the first year of regression after what had been a steady climb for DeRozan since coming into the league. While this is great to see, I still question how well his play style lends itself to wins in the postseason. He relies so much on getting to the line and we all know that the whistles tighten up in the playoffs. His Defensive Box Plus/Minus has been negative his entire career and his 23.7% from the 3-point line doesn’t scare anybody. So much for ending on a positive.
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