 | J. Johnson 21 MIN | 5-7 FG | 0-1 3FG | 0-1 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 10 PTS | -1 +/- Low expectations + above-average performer = can never be disappointed in his game. Joe Johnson/Luol Deng scored on him a couple times but he fed it right back, and scored in even more emphatic fashion. My favorite was his one-on-one move where the D was playing him to drive and he drove anyways only to finish strong. On defense, he tends to overestimate how much his standing reach is bothering the offensive player. I mean, he’s got a 7’0″ wingspan so he should be a better contester of shots but just isn’t. |  | |||||||
| |||||||||
 | L. Scola 16 MIN | 2-4 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 4 PTS | -5 +/- Do you like cheesecake? Of course you do! Who doesn’t like cheesecake? It’s a nice little dessert at the end of a good meal, as long as it’s the touch at the end of an otherwise nutritious meal. Now, if you got served cheesecake as part of the appetizers and entree, you’d probably wonder just what the hell is wrong with this restaurant, and why they’re ruining all the positive aspects of the cheesecake by serving such a large dose of it at untimely points in the evening. |  | |||||||
 | J. Valanciunas 32 MIN | 7-11 FG | 0-0 3FG | 6-6 FT | 10 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 20 PTS | +5 +/- Another strong showing battling rebounds against a legitimate big, and he had to do that because Whiteside was making his life miserable on the other end. The hesitancy in his offensive game was there from minute one, and a shot-blocker like Whiteside reads that as fear. He’s got to make his moves quicker and his teammates have to make sure the side is either clear or not congested before throwing it to him. | | |||||||
| |||||||||
 | K. Lowry 45 MIN | 4-16 FG | 2-8 3FG | 6-6 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 16 PTS | +9 +/- Not a good shooting game, and got crushed by Dragic on the other end. Chalk it up to a bad night. He’s saved us on too many nights to dig any deeper here. |  | |||||||
 | D. DeRozan 43 MIN | 13-26 FG | 0-2 3FG | 12-15 FT | 10 REB | 7 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 38 PTS | +4 +/- Had to work hard for his. Had a bunch of different guys on him throwing different looks, and in the past you might’ve seen him get flustered and frustrated. Was patient when he had it and didn’t get the calls he wanted, which is something he should get used come the playoffs, so it was good to see him have a strong offensive game without the benefit of the line. Huge shots towards the end, but those shitty handles almost cost us the game with that turnover. |  | |||||||
| |||||||||
 | P. Patterson 37 MIN | 3-8 FG | 3-4 3FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 9 PTS | +14 +/- He always seems to hit one timely fourth quarter shot, and so it was true again (only this time, he hit one in OT too). Otherwise, he’s still passing up shots that he should take (especially deferring to Lowry). Take comfort in knowing that he’s at least busting a gut defensively and that Dwane Casey doesn’t have to worry too much about matchups when he’s in there since he can guard 3, 4, and sometimes 5. | | |||||||
| |||||||||
 | T. Ross 20 MIN | 2-5 FG | 1-2 3FG | 2-2 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 7 PTS | +5 +/- One of the problems in evaluating Ross is that his face tends to betrays what he feels inside. He might be completely amped up for a game and ready to kill someone, but looking at him, you’d think he just finished visited a local dispensary. I like his growth of late, it’s also fun when he’s scampering about on the perimeter on his toes instead of his heels. Strong minutes to spell DeRozan to start the fourth including a big three, which succeeded a good spell in the second quarter where he even drove baseline to setup Biyombo. |  | |||||||
| |||||||||
 | B. Biyombo 21 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 3FG | 2-4 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | +3 +/- Whiteside’s length negated him completely off the glass. JV was the better option for this game and the minutes played reflect that. Did have a key rebound in OT with JV on the bench. |  | |||||||
 | C. Joseph 30 MIN | 1-7 FG | 0-1 3FG | 4-4 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 3 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | +6 +/- Poor shooting night and missed some shots in the fourth that would’ve created some much-needed cushion. There seemed to be a lack of communication between him and the other bigs when it came to defending the side pick ‘n rolls, which resulted in clean looks for Miami. Dwane – look into that. | | |||||||
 | Dwane Casey Good management of Biyombo/JV minutes, and made the right call of increasing James Johnson’s minutes and benching Norman Powell. Would’ve liked to see a better play than having DeRozan dribble the ball into a turnover down three with 15 seconds left, and why the Raptors are even trying to defend a drive for two points when down three beats the hell out of me. | | |||||||
Four Things We Saw
- OK, let’s get this out of the way. Heat were playing on a B2B after blowing out the Bulls last night and were missing two of their best players. So what? You play who they put in front of you. I’m kind of surprised they rested Wade, almost like they wanted an excuse in case they lost.
- You saw another glimpse of how reliant our offense is on one player compared to other teams. Miami’s options on offense were to go through Winslow, Deng, Johnson, or Dragic, and on the Raptors side you knew it was DeRozan and DeRozan alone.
- Thought the Raptors did well defensively, especially JV who has learnt to become a factor defensively even when he doesn’t have it going on offense. I think that’s almost a tipping point in maturity for a player. I think.
- A 3-0 week against two good teams and a big comeback against opposition you can’t be faulted for playing down to. Sounds pretty good.
