Given the Raptors’ dramatic collapse post all-star festivities last season, there was a hint of panic which set in when the Raptors played a really poor game in Chicago. But with last night’s big victory over the Grizzlies, the crisis, for the time being, has been averted. The Raptors – rocking a 36-18 record – now look to surge, distancing themselves from third place Boston (4.5 games back), and trimming the 4-game gap that first place Cleveland has over them. All things considered, the Raptors are having a great season, and are still on course to break the 50-win mark which would be a franchise record.
Toronto’s Atlantic Division rivals, the New York Knicks, are having a bizarre season to say the least. New York is not unaccustomed to tumultuous times, but despite their record which probably won’t be enough for a post-season push, coupled with the fact that they’ve fired head coach Derek Fisher and have lost 10-of-12, they are actually a decent team, and on any given night have enough weapons to keep up with teams ahead of them in the standings.
The Knicks have pieces on their roster that can, and have hurt the Raptors. Kristaps Porzingis is a stretch-big who can play both inside-and-out. His athleticism and range are going to give the Raptors headaches, as both Scola and Valanciunas struggle mightily with big-men who can play outside. Carmelo Anthony, meanwhile, is still scoring at an elite level, and is one of those notorious Raptor-killers. In his past three, Melo has been averaging just over 28 points and 10 rebounds per game. Historically, Melo has averaged 25 ppg against the Raptors.
If there was ever a time to end the Luis Scola as a starter experiment, tonight would be it. Porzingis is the type of player who Scola typically really struggles against. As of late, Scola has been in poor form on both ends of the floor, and playing against a streth-big who can not only make Scola uncomfortable on the perimeter, but who’s freakish athletic ability allows him to go up for put-backs and grab rebounds. Patrick Patterson has looked really confident, energetic, and efficient as of late off the bench, and matching him up with Porzingis should be conducive to help the Raptors get off to a good start – something they’ve struggled with all season. Scola’s usage rate was far too high in the first quarter last night against Memphis, and that’s something that’s worrying, given that he shouldn’t be a go-to weapon on the floor with the surrounding players the Raptors have.
Dwane Casey’s defensive scheme was, for the most part, on point in last night’s match-up against the Grizzlies, and that’s something that will have to continue tonight. The rotations need to be quick and fluid. New York moves the ball at an astounding rate – which is bizarre, because they rank 24th in the league in assists. The problem lies with their offensive execution. Despite replacing Derek Fisher with Kurt Rambis, the team hasn’t gone away from their triangle offense. Teams will often figure out how to snuff out a Knicks’ offensive possession, and what ensues, is iso-ball – the team becomes stagnant and relies on a Melo isolation save, something that clearly correlates with their poor record.
Melo is a volume scorer who’s having a really good year, but the Knicks are not going to win many games relying on such a stagnant offensive scheme. They’re a bit better once they go into their isolations early in the clock, at least, as that allows Melo to draw a double team and dish it to an open shooter. Aaron Afflalo, the team’s 2nd leading scorer after Anthony, can do more of the same.
While the Knicks may resort to iso-ball, the Raptors are too good as a whole to follow suit. The scary reality is that the Raptors rank even lower than the Knicks when it comes to team assists, but they can make up for that by attacking the rim – and in particular attacking Carmelo Anthony. The Raptors have been so good this season being incisive. Cory Joseph, DeMar DeRozan, and Terrence Ross (sometimes) have been really good at slashing, and that’s going to provide all kinds of good looks for Dwane Casey’s men if that continues tonight. It should be noted that Jose Calderon still starts for the Knicks, so sharpen your knives, boys, and start carving.
As a reminder, the Knicks have zero incentive to tank this season, so they’ll play you pretty tough. And, for those of you who are interested in where that Raptors draft pick might land at the end of the season, this website tracks it beautifully.
Tip-off is at 7:30 pm EST.
