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The Raptors have become adults (and that’s why they’re not fun anymore) – The Defeated Winning is now the expectation and nothing else will do. Even losses to the Warriors, Spurs and Cavaliers feel devastating. We know the Raptors aren’t on that level yet but they’re supposed to be. Being reminded of that gap is…

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Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images

Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images

The Raptors have become adults (and that’s why they’re not fun anymore) – The Defeated

Winning is now the expectation and nothing else will do. Even losses to the Warriors, Spurs and Cavaliers feel devastating. We know the Raptors aren’t on that level yet but they’re supposed to be. Being reminded of that gap is every bit as disheartening as their surprise wins over Cleveland were encouraging. It’s a glass half-empty approach because we expect it to be filled eventually.

Lowry and DeRozan have matured into perennial All-Stars who form the second-best backcourt in the league. They also serve as the parents for the younger generation that stocks №9–15 on the bench. It’s beautiful to watch them flourish like never before, but there’s also a laborious quality to their work. I get the sense that rookies Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam want to help, but they’re little kids too small to do the chores. Lowry and DeRozan have to take care of everything every night and it looks exhausting.

Patrick Patterson and DeMarre Carroll do their best to help but they’re limited. Both players are smart enough to be on the same wavelength as Lowry and DeRozan, only Patterson succeeds because he knows his limitations, whereas Carroll fails in spite of good intentions. Their roles are to play defense and to hit open shots. There’s nothing sexy about being a middle manager but they’re important to the operation. Patterson is great in his role, while Carroll is ultimately doomed by poor health.

Valanciunas and Ross are trying to get on that level, but both players lack awareness and consistency. Neither one has the mental capacity to focus on anything beyond their own games, and that limits them to being role players. But the potential is there — they’ll occasionally put it together for a few weeks. Hopefully they’ll click in time for the playoffs, but for the regular season grind, Lowry and DeRozan can carry them when they’re having off-nights.

10 things I saw from Raptors-Timberwolves (8–2–2017) – The Defeated

Coaching failure: Pin this loss on Dwane Casey. It’s on the players to execute, but it’s on Casey to choose the right players to execute the right game plan. He failed on both accounts tonight. He benched Jonas Valanciunas in the fourth when the Raptors struggled to rebound. He put in an ice-cold Norman Powell who made costly mistakes. He had the Raptors trap when they needed to protect the basket. Casey fucked up.

10 observations: In frustrating loss, DeMarre Carroll shows why Raptors cannot give up on him – The Athletic

It was not the only time Carroll made an excellent play on the move: He found DeMar DeRozan open in the corner for a 3-pointer later in the first quarter. In the third quarter, he had an impressive layup on the move.

One of Carroll’s best offensive games of the season came in a rather annoying Raptors loss, a 112-109 defeat in Minnesota against the Timberwolves. There was a lot to dislike down the stretch, including Carroll’s defence on Andrew Wiggins. However, if Kyle Lowry’s 3-point attempt that was in and out stayed down, or Norman Powell does not lose his man on a cut, or Cory Joseph does not get sucked down low on a Wiggins drive or Patrick Patterson is healthy, the result very well could have been different. This was one of those games that could have turned on a few dozen different moments.

However, in the macro sense, Carroll’s play was the one thing to really take away from the game. Carroll hit all five of his 3-pointers — in a halftime interview, he credited an injured finger that is healing — and finished with 19 points in total. He also had nine rebounds, the second-most he has had all year, proof of increased activity. He had a few cuts that were reminders of his days in Atlanta, too.

And this is why, as irrepressible as Powell has been, the Raptors cannot quite give up on Carroll and let his US$15-million sit on the bench. The best version of Carroll, right now, is still a crucial element of the Raptors if they want to have success. From that perspective, his performance, at least on one end, was heartening on Wednesday night. However, if he cannot help the Raptors put together more stops reliably, it will not matter that much.

Raptors defence to blame for loss against Timberwolves | Toronto Sun

“We play ‘sometime’ defence and we can’t do that,” Casey said after the loss. “We’re not going to be a good team if we play ‘sometime’ defence and think we’re going to outscore them. We shoot 53% and we thought it was just going to be a tit-for-tat game. We didn’t have the force or togetherness. One breakdown here, one breakdown there and now you give them confidence.

“Until we, collectively, together, play in our schemes, in our rotations and do what’s right, it’s one breakdown here, one breakdown there. We’ve just got to get it together.”

If you’re reading that and thinking you’ve heard it before, you are not wrong.

This has been going on for some time. Periodically, the Raptors will snap out of it and have a decent defensive game, but it has yet to last for any length of time.

“It’s everybody, it’s not just one person, it’s all of us,” Casey said. “Every guy that went in had breakdowns and until we start collectively doing our job on each possession — ‘my bad’s’ get you beat and that’s kind of what we’re adding up right now. We’ve got to have seven or eight guys — and if we can’t play nine, we can’t play nine — who are going to play hard, together.

Takeaways: Raptors continue to struggle against weaker opponents – Sportsnet.ca

DeMarre Carroll is back

On the plus side, Carroll had a solid night. The 30-year-old finished with 19 points shooting 7-of-9 from the field and 5-of-5 from three with a team-high nine rebounds. Carroll made great off-the-ball cuts, provided great spacing and had good lift on his jump shot.

Against Minnesota Carroll looked like the man Dwane Casey envisioned having at his disposal when he signed in Toronto as a free agent.

Where is JV?

Jonas Valanciunas didn’t miss a shot and was playing well through three quarters bat sat virtually the entire fourth quarter, only entering with 33 seconds left in the game. Valanciunas scored 16 points shooting 7-of-7 from the field. This game ends J.V.’s three-game streak of 13 or more shots in a game, the longest such stretch of his NBA career.

Raptors fall to Wiggins and Timberwolves | Toronto Star

It was the same old, same old here Wednesday night, a solid offensive game done in by a spell of atrocious defence and just enough breakdowns to lose, this time 112-109 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a game the Raptors lost far more than the hosts won.

“It’s been old,” Kyle Lowry said. “Something has got to shake, something has got to give. It’s not in the sense of doing something. We just have to figure it out ourselves.

“When I say something has got to give, we just all have to give in and figure out our defence, put ourselves on the line and hold each other accountable. We are a good team, but as of now we are not a good team. We are not playing like a good team.”

For the Raptors, the breakdowns came late in the game this time, after they had seemingly taken control. They allowed the Timberwolves to score on seven straight possessions down the stretch to complete a 59-point Minnesota second half.

“Once we did get a stop, they got the boards,” said coach Dwane Casey. “It’s putting your finger in one hole and another one opens up.

“ ‘My bads’ get you beat, and that’s kind of what we’re adding up right now. We’ve got to have seven or eight guys — and if we can’t play nine, we can’t play nine — who are going to play hard, together.”

Game Rap: Raptors 109, Timberwolves 112 | Toronto Raptors

WOLVES COMPLETE COMEBACK

Minnesota saved its best for last, shooting 56 percent in the fourth while holding the Raptors to just 21 points. Opponent reserves coming off the bench to make a difference late has been a problem for Toronto in recent games. On Wednesday it was Shabazz Muhammad to score 11 in the final frame while Towns added eight points and Wiggins scored seven. A Wiggins jumper gave the Wolves a one-point lead with 47.6 seconds on the clock. Although DeRozan would tie the game with a layup with 29.5 seconds remaining, Wiggins assisted on a huge three-pointer from Tyus Jones to put the Wolves up three and despite the final possession of the game in a one-possession game, Toronto was not able to connect at the buzzer.

Raptors Collapse Late, Fall to Timberwolves 112-109 – Raptors HQ

The biggest question for Raptors fans will be Dwane Casey’s usage of Jonas Valanciunas. JV has been on a hot streak of late (20.3 PPG and 9.3 rebounds in the last three games) and played great for the first three quarters, but Casey sat the Lithuanian in the fourth until the last 33 seconds of the game. Old habits die hard, and we’ve seen this from Casey before, but the bench boss’s lack of confidence in his starting center shot the Raptors in the foot tonight.

This game was troubling for a number of reasons, but the reality is the Timberwolves are a very beatable opponent. The sky is the limit for a Minnesota roster that’s loaded with potential, but the Raptors are clearly the better team right now, and these are games they need to win. Prior to tip-off, Toronto had won 22 of its last 24 meetings vs. the Wolves.

If you’re wondering how important Patrick Patterson is to this team, this contest is a great example of why. Patterson’s absence was felt throughout the game, but it was painfully obvious how much his contributions were missed during the ugly second half collapse. Heal up, Patman.

Stephenson, reserves help Timberwolves close out Raptors – StarTribune.com

“That’s what you dream of, the go-ahead shot in an NBA game late like that in the fourth,” Jones said. “You spend hours and hours in the gym and shoot thousands and thousands of those. You can’t let it affect you. My teammates and coaches kept telling me to keep shooting it with confidence. You just have to trust them, like Wigs trusted me by making the pass.”

Like Stephenson, Jones played the entire fourth quarter because he was part of the group that brought the Wolves back from a seven-point deficit late in the third quarter.

Until then, the Wolves trailed by as many as 13 points and were down by 10 at halftime before their starters began the second half with an 18-7 burst.

“We were flowing,” Wiggins said of the fourth-quarter finish. “Coach let that lineup rock.”

Wiggins played both shot-maker and playmaker Wednesday, a night when he scored 31 points and also had six assists.

“Andrew was great,” Thibodeau said. “He has really grown in that area, and he has to do more. He has to do more.”

Wolves 112, Raptors 109: There’s a lot more to this – A Wolf Among Wolves

A quick story about Lowry – at around the 7:00 mark of the third quarter, he drove to the basket and didn’t get a whistle. The Wolves collected the rebound, and as Ricky started to make his way up the floor, Lowry quickly fouled him. AS LOWRY WAS FOULING RICKY, he was saying something to the ref. The entire time the ref signaled to the scorekeeper, and prepared to whistle the ball back in play, Lowry stood there to belabor the point that the official had missed a call. Lowry literally committed a foul just so he could get some one-on-one time to quibble with a referee.

Timberwolves Wrap: Late-game heroics down Raptors – Dunking with Wolves

The Timberwolves crunch time lineup featured Jones, Stephenson, Andrew Wiggins, Shabazz Muhammad, and Towns. It was clear that Tom Thibodeau did not want to play two below-average three-point shooters next to each other in the back court in Stephenson and Rubio, although the run that Lowry and DeRozan went on with the diminutive Jones always guarding one of the two of them made it tough to see Rubio still riding the pine.

But the Wolves’ defensive scheme held tight while Muhammad made 2-of-4 free throw attempts after being fouled on consecutive possessions, and the Raptors answered and tied the game on a tough DeRozan layup with 29 seconds left.

After a Minnesota timeout, Wiggins predictably received the ball at the top of the key and, just as predictably, drove to his right. The Raptors trapped him on the baseline and the Wolves’ star made the correct play, dishing to the opposite wing and an open Tyus Jones. The second-year point guard canned the open jumper, giving the Wolves a three-point lead with just over 19 seconds remaining.

On the other end, the Raptors scored on a dunk from Jonas Valanciunas to draw within a single point. Wiggins made a pair of free throws after being fouled, and a combination of he and Stephenson forced the Raptors into a tough dribble-hand-off with Lowry launching a contested corner three that clanked harmlessly off the rim as time expired.

It was an impressive comeback by a team that looked discombobulated for much of the evening. The defensive issues continue to be very real, although the Raptors are a team that executes with consistency and were forced into tough shots for much of the second half.

Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry reflects on career achievement | Toronto Star

Lowry became the franchise’s leader in three-point field goals made on Monday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, surpassing Morris Peterson’s total of 801, the first all-time mark Lowry has established in his fifth season with the team.

“It means I’ve done something to help a franchise grow, I’ve done something individually,” Lowry said Wednesday morning, the first time he’s spoken about the record since he set it.

But personal accomplishments are more to reflect on later rather than relish right now.

“I mean I’ll look at my individual accomplishments once I’m done and retired, but it does mean something, just like DeMar (DeRozan) having the all-time leading scoring mark. It means something to you and to your franchise.”

Lowry will have some time coming to quickly reflect, as the Raptors don’t play again until Sunday. And even though he’s logging more minutes than anyone in the league — 37.7 per game before Wednesday’s meeting with the Timberwolves — he’s not complaining.

“It’s very easy to get up and then when you have a great group of guys and great coaches around you it’s fun,” he said. “At times you’re like ‘I want to sleep in longer,’ but it’s your job. At the end of the day it brings home the bacon . . . the turkey bacon.”

Los Angeles Lakers owners, front office grappling with next steps for the franchise – ESPN

Will the Lakers approach another team to get permission to make a Godfather offer to a big-name GM such as RC Buford, Masai Ujiri or Bob Myers? Is there a dynamic assistant GM out there — such as OKC’s Troy Weaver or Michael Winger, Boston’s Mike Zarren, Orlando’s Scott Perry or Golden State’s Travis Schlenk — who could become the next Buford, Ujiri or Myers?

Did I miss something? Send me any Raptors-related article/video to rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com

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