 | L. Scola 11 MIN | 1-5 FG | 0-2 3FG | 0-1 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | -14 +/-If this game doesn’t punctuate why Patterson should be starting I don’t know what will. Scola exited the game at 6:52 of the 1Q having missed all 4 shot attempts while allowing Love to score on 50% of his shots for 7 points. Of note Love finished the half with 9 points |  |
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 | J. Johnson 16 MIN | 0-3 FG | 0-1 3FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -12 +/-Did a decent job through the first half on James holding him to 4 of 10 for 11 points. Felt like he lost his head a little on the overly aggressive foul on Love. LeBron James is going to get his, but JJ made him work. After he picked up his 4th foul Casey seemed to forget about him OR… maybe he decided to stick with Ross who was doing an okay job defensively, but offered scoring and other intangibles. |  |
 | J. Valanciunas 28 MIN | 4-5 FG | 0-0 3FG | 3-4 FT | 9 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 11 PTS | +4 +/-He had trouble guarding the offensively challenged Tristan Thompson allowing the Canadain to out muscle him for rebounds and beat him to his spot in the paint. He wasn’t much better on Mozgov. He also took several silly fouls. Midway through the third as the wheels were coming off and the Cavs were threatening to blow it wide open he took a hard shot to the ribs from James (didn’t appear dirty, just in the motion of coming down from the basket). Fortunately he was able to return to the game. When he did it was as if the shot knocked some fire into him. He’ll need to watch game tape to learn from his mistakes, but he gets points for not quitting and turning the supposed x-factor Channing Frye into a bench warmer. |  |
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 | K. Lowry 43 MIN | 15-20 FG | 2-5 3FG | 11-15 FT | 5 REB | 9 AST | 4 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 43 PTS | +11 +/-The bulldog from Philly/adopted Canadian threw his hat into serious MVP consideration tonight. If not for Lowry this game would have been over by the half. He was tenacious on both ends of the court defending Irving well and hitting for close to 100%.in the first half. I expect the A+ to be graded as too low (and in fact I encourage you to say it is). This wasn’t just a statement game for the Raptors, it was Lowry telling anyone who questions what he intends to bring in April … THAT |  |
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 | D. DeRozan 32 MIN | 1-11 FG | 0-1 3FG | 4-4 FT | 6 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | +6 +/-I erased everything I had written upon learning he was suffering from the flu. The fact he came back into the game with a little over 3 minutes remaining if only to force the Cavs to have to defend him was impressive. And because he did that and still gave his all rebounding, defending and intangibles I simply can’t give him a really low score despite his 1 of 11 night. I’m too high from the win. Let’s call this a rain check upgrade for the plus I didn’t give him the other night. | |
 | P. Patterson 37 MIN | 2-4 FG | 1-1 3FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 5 PTS | +16 +/-Patterson held Love to 2 points in the first half playing aggressive defense. He wasn’t perfect BUT he earned his starting spot tonight. Late in the game he was switched on to James and made a critical stop to keep the momentum on the Raptors side. I know Casey doesn’t want to disrupt the bench, however I think he needs to so Patterson can develop a better flow with the starters. And hey maybe Scola will perform well against the reserve PFs. |  |
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 | T. Ross 27 MIN | 6-11 FG | 3-6 3FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 15 PTS | -1 +/-When I finally could get the template to load I was madly typing to catch up on what had occurred and was about to say I hadn’t really noticed Ross. After inputting my comments my computer crashed. It was almost as if Ross was saying “hey you better give me a better grade”. Okay Terrence … message received. On a night where DeRozan couldn’t provide his normal offensive production (and definitely wasn’t channeling MJ), Ross stepped up hitting big shots and most impressively wanted the ball in crucial moments. That and the glee that hasn’t worn off from the win earn him an upgrade to A. |  |
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 | B. Biyombo 20 MIN | 5-5 FG | 0-0 3FG | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | -2 +/-What an incredilbe early showing by the man who apparently decided to kill the bunnies all together hitting 100% of his shots (5 for 5). Then again there was that air ball technical free throw. While there is no dispute Lowry is the leader and the force that drives the Raptors, Biz is equally driven to bring energy and grit to the court. | |
 | C. Joseph 24 MIN | 3-9 FG | 0-1 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | +7 +/- In the second quarter trailing by 12 the combination of Joseph, Patterson, Biyombo, Ross and Lowry went on a 10-0 run with Cory Jo running the offense and Lowry playing more of the shooting guard role. You’ve heard it from me before, and you’ll probably hear it from me again – the Raps bench unit +Lowry is rapidly becoming my favorite 5 unit. Joseph and Lowry make life extremely difficult for the opposition and whether they are flanked by reserves of JV and DeRozan they are developing an amazing chemistry on both ends of the floor. Learning he was also sick makes his performance all the more impressive. In hindsight he deserves an A for doing early what Ross provided late. For some reason I couldn’t get his grade to enter … B Plus |  |
 | Dwane CaseyThough I could nit pick especially over the Patterson not starting situation, the fact is he brought Patterson in before the halfway mark of the 1Q and only used Scola to get PP some rest. Like some guys above he’s probably owed a few past upgrades from me, so why not – I’m in a giving mood. That said, the team still needs to improve on their inbound player movement and out of time out plays. | |
Four Things We Saw
- Lowry played out of his mind tonight and did it while leading his team and staying composed. I know Curry probably has the MVP sewn up but for my money (and if I had a vote) Lowry’s efforts through to this point in the season and especially tonight vault him into the top 3!
- Every game these two teams have played has been chippy and tonight was no exception. When Bismack took the hard foul it felt like something shifted in the Raptors who weren’t going to get pushed around at home. It also appeared the chippiness was meant to be bully ball as if LBJ and crew were trying to send a message. That in itself (at least for me) was a sign the Cavs are worried about these Raptors.
- With the win the Raptors are now 2 games back and own the tiebreaker if it comes down to that. More importantly I can’t wait to see if the Raptors can use this win as the kick start to a slow build heading into April. As Leigh Ellis or Rolando Blackman would say: CONFIDENCE BABY, CONFIDENCE.
- And finally………………….KYLE LOWRY IS EVERYTHING!!!!
.@_sgennaro @raptorsrepublic @BlakeMurphyODC @allinsportstalk @LeighEllis @TasMelas CONFIDENCE BABY CONFIDENCE! pic.twitter.com/Sf528lw8jx
— Tamberlyn Richardson (@TTOTambz) February 27, 2016
