Raptors 112, Thunder 102 | Boxscore | Quick Reaction | Reaction Podcast
In terms of reclaiming the right mindset, conventional wisdom suggested that there was no better way to shake off Sunday’s letdown against an inferior opponent than to follow it up with a matchup versus one of the league’s “elite.” I get that the Raps unravelling against a team like Sacramento didn’t quite offer the same shock value of the United States’ presidential race, but their second-half meltdown was an eye-opener in its own right.
Side Notes:
A) I don’t doubt the fact that the Thunder will be a legitimate threat in the West down the stretch, if not all season long. But have they earned their early press clippings? … I mean, when you take away handing the Clippers their only loss to date (a notable victory, without a doubt) their other five wins came against teams with a collective 9-25 record to start the season. And yes, you can only beat the teams that are put in front of you, but judging by OKC only having to face four teams that are currently above .500 over the the course of their next 12 games (a far cry from the Raps’ mini-gauntlet of Charlotte, Cleveland and Golden State in three of their next four), that question will likely linger for the foreseeable future.
B) When Donald Trump actually receives less individual votes than Hilary Clinton, something tells me it might be time for the U.S., and even Canada for that matter, to tweak their respective electoral voting systems. It’s a repeat occurrence of Bush’s victory over Gore in 2000, but still only marks the 4th time in history this scenario has transpired. Did the people truly speak?
Alright, back to basketball:
Other notable/intriguing subplots as tipoff approached:
- The announcement that Valanciunas and Ross would be inactive: Now, you never want to wish for an injury to happen, but much like when Sullinger went down, a blessing in disguise exists. And even though JV and T-Ross’ ailments are just considered day-to-day, any extended opportunity that Siakam, Poeltl, Powell, and now Bebe, can receive in the early going is invaluable to what this team can become in the present and in the future. If the mission is to maximize the window of DeMar and Lowry’s prime, tightening up any inexperienced loose ends when they have the chance surely offers a positive flip side.
- The flip side to the flip side: As far as this particular matchup goes: An inexperienced frontcourt going up against the likes of Steven Adams and Enes Kanter struck fear in every Raptor fan. As for the long-term outlook: This entire injury/playing time situation does highlight the potential for a full blown cluster you-know-what. Anytime JV is out (even though the offense has strayed a bit from making JV a priority) the onus for extra minutes (more so than usual) falls on K-Low and DeMar. And anytime you’ll essentially have 8 players (including Sullinger) that will have fluctuating minutes hanging over them, you’ll run the risk of inconsistent results.
- Speaking of inconsistent results, the fact that the Raps currently can’t hit the side of a barn from behind the arc has been getting plenty of pub lately. Highlighted by a few early but drastic dips from last season and beyond:
- Carroll’s 3-pt % for his career/2015-16/2016-17: 36.7, 37.0, 26.2
- Lowry’s 3-pt % for his career/2015-16/2016-17: 32.0, 38.8, 25.2
- Patterson’s 3-pt % for his career/2015-16/2016-17: 36.2, 36.2, 15.0
- Jakob Poeltl vs. Domantas Sabonis: Remember when Sabonis was the Raptors’ odds-on pick at 9th overall? My own personal rankings had my fingers crossed that the Raps would announce Sabonis’ name, but with Poeltl as solid consolation prize. We’re years away from finding out if the Raps’ passing on Domantas in favor of Jak was ultimately the right call, but how many had their first head-to-head matchup (circumstances attached, of course) consisting of each in their respective team’s starting lineup? Especially after Orlando shipped Sabonis to Oklahoma. This promises to be a heated debate moving forward.
- Last, but certainly not least: How to defend Russell Westbrook. Better yet, how to limit the deadly force he can inflict. And if he proves uncontainable, how much will the Raptors’ offensive gamelan be affected.
Bottom line: With two days off, Wednesday night called for a reinvigorated level of effort. And regardless of how legitimate, OKC’s profile across the league surely was enough to force the issue. Right?
Well, how did T.O. initially respond?
They didn’t exactly come out swinging. The Raps started things off by hitting just two out of their first 10 shots — with only two assists, two free throws, two measly attempts from downtown and six turnovers by the time the 1st quarter ended. Their first bucket of the game came with just over 7 minutes left, and their transition defense was getting exposed early and often.
However, the opening Q wasn’t without a few positive reinforcemnets: Poeltl displayed feistiness on the offensive glass against an extremely physical frontcourt, some of Carroll’s explosiveness noticeably came to life, and despite his bad habit of leaving his feet too early, one that padded the turnover total, DeRozan kept things respectable going 5-for-9 from from the field in his usual stealth-like mid-range form.
To say those encouraging signs carried over wouldn’t do what happened next, and throughout the rest of the game, justice:
- The defense began to bring suffocating pressure, which turned the tables on the transition game, not to mention DeMarre Carroll’s noticeable mobility improvement translating into his catch-and-shoot threes on the wing.
- Whether it was running the floor, altering shots, his +30 rating, or the continuation of last season’s encouraging Lowry-to-Bebe alley-oops, Nogueria was a thorn in OKC’s side at both ends. So much so that he’s squarely on the radar to be in thick of that aforementioned cluster of future minutes.
- As for those aforementioned 1st quarter numbers: As halftime hit, the Raps were up to 13 dimes, hit 6 of 10 from three, levelled off their turnovers to 7, shot 68 percent since going 2 for 10 and topped everything off with 23-9 run to end the 2nd quarter which featured 42 total points.
- As for those three-ball dips: Carroll: 2-3, Lowry: 5 for 11, Patterson: 3 for 8. Patterson, who was a +17 in his own right, was up to his old bag of tricks of contributing across the scoresheet. Fingers crossed this marks the beginning of his annual wake-up call. The club, and three of their main shooters aren’t out of the woods yet, but this serves as another reminder that patience is a virtue 7 games in.
- Did Westbrook get his? Well, you’re not gonna be able to stop from him putting up digits for his fantasy owners, but relegating him to a 9-for-26 night (3-for-12 from deep) was admirably done by a committee approach. A group that was led by the defensive fearlessness of Norman Powell, and supporting cast members Cory Joseph, and to a lesser extent, Bebe, who got physical on drives in the lane. But most of all, the Raps negated the chance for Westbrook to create any kind of sustainable momentum, even when OKC managed to cut T.O’s 4th quarter double-digit lead to just 4 points. Withstanding a final run, and closing out teams on the road, is good practice if a Cleveland rematch were to present itself.
- Battle of the Point Guards: Yes, Lowry actually shot 30% to Westbrook’s 34, but to put what he brought to the table into perspective: His numerous clutch 3-pointers continued to sink OKC’s comeback attempts. And did I mention KLOE was 3 boards shy of a triple double with just over 2 mins left in the third quarter! He weaved in and out of traffic and actively searched (and found) for his teammates with 13 calculated assists overall.
- What’s a Raps’ win these days without saving DeRozan as the best for last? Victories without DeMar at the helm are becoming few and far between, and last night was no different. Dropping 36 points with 15 free-throw attempts deserves a round of applause, but when he does it without the services of JV’s screens, and delivers a tangible number (6 helpers) to his doubters to help show/prove that he is indeed attempting to create for others when the opportunity presents itself, his overall performance deserves a standing ovation. I was getting a little worried (Well, I still am) that DeRozan’s early season dominance is taking away from the mission of making JV an added focal point, but time is certainly on our side to enjoy this ride. And it’s still going up.
Charlotte’s up next, buckle up!
