Einstein couldn’t make sense of these Raptors; Raps do get fair shake from refs – with some glaring exceptions

In the words of the great Slim Shady, won’t the real Toronto Raptors please stand up?
With the club now through 35% of the regular season schedule, we still have little clue exactly what they are and how to assess them.
They can beat Dallas and Oklahoma City on the road back-to-back, top the mighty Spurs at the ACC another night and give Golden State two of its toughest tests this year, then get throttled by a Kings side that has stunk on the road, fall to the Knicks, nearly trail at the half against the Sixers and lose to the Nuggets.
The absences of Jonas Valanciunas and DeMarre Carroll notwithstanding, Toronto remains a confounding mystery with no guarantees what Dwane Casey will get from one night to the next.
NO RESPECT?
Earlier this season, Patrick Patterson told a couple of us that the Raptors need to stop complaining to officials about everything and just play the game and worry about themselves. He walked those comments back somewhat on Sunday night when asked if talking too much hurt the team, but made another interesting comment.
“No, we get no respect (from referees), that’s obvious across the league, so at some point we do have to stop complaining, we do have to stop talking to the refs and just focus on us and the things we can control,” Patterson said.
“It’s us, we can only focus on things that we can control so we have to stop worrying about the refs, stop worrying about all these different variables. We just have to hone in on us and what we need to do.”
At first glance it’s hard to accept Patterson’s suggestion that the Raptors don’t get respect when you factor in that DeMar DeRozan ranks second in the league in both free throw makes and attempts and the team ranks third in makes and fourth in attempts overall.
They put a ton of pressure on opponents by constantly attacking and could get more calls, but are still getting plenty.
No, Patterson’s words don’t really match reality unless you take into account what has happened at times in defensive situations. Lowry got tossed after seeking clarification about one of his patented under-the-rim swipes at an opponent who had just grabbed a defensive rebound. Earlier in the game, Lowry had robbed Rudy Gay of the ball on such a play and it is one of his trademarks. But he got called for a foul (justifiably) in this case. Perhaps Lowry (and Patterson) are still mad about two blown calls earlier this year (including one against Sacramento) where Lowry and Joseph made great defensive plays but were called for clearly bogus fouls that played a huge part in Toronto dropping those contests.
LOWRY TAKES BLAME
Lowry apologized for letting his team down, but Patterson, a teammate of Lowry’s in Houston as well, said that wasn’t necessary. Lowry’s intensity and the chip on his shoulder makes him who he is, so sometimes you just have to accept the bad that can come with that fire.
“We know that he’s a very passionate player. He plays with his heart every possession, he’s very emotional, he cares about the game and most importantly, he cares about this team,” Patterson said.
“We understand whether he gets two technicals, whether he gets one or whether he gets in a fight or whether he gets ejected, we all know that it’s his passion, just the desire to want to win so much. You shouldn’t feel sorry, you shouldn’t feel like you let us down because at the end of the day, he’s playing with his heart every single time.”
Lowry now has seven technical fouls for the year, tied with Clippers star Blake Griffin for the NBA lead. He’s nearly half-way toward a suspension.
NOT IMPRESSED
Patterson was tremendous and helped get the Raptors back in the game with his strong shooting, but he isn’t impressed with himself yet after a terrible start to the season.
“I’ll feel comfortable when I’m shooting above 38% from the field. Until then, no,” Patterson said.
Patterson is shooting 43% at home and 38.2% from three, but just 31.3% on the road and 26.7% from three.
KARL DEFENDS RAPTORS
Casey started his NBA career as an assistant in Seattle under George Karl two decades ago and Karl is happy to see Casey doing well as a head coach in Toronto.
“I love how he’s handling this team, the last two or three years I’ve seen a confidence in him but also a courage,” Karl said before the game.
“Sometimes young coaches get nervous but he’s doing it his way and I know what he believes in. His personality is in this team and I think that’s always a good sign and a good trait.”
Karl also doesn’t understand the criticism directed toward DeRozan and Lowry at times.
“Kyle Lowry and DeRozan, everybody complains about them but they’re pretty darn good. You guys should stop complaining because those kids are getting better, they’re improving on a monthly basis and right now Lowry’s playing about as good as any point guard in the game,” Karl said.
AROUND THE RIM
Bismack Biyombo fell two rebounds short of becoming the first Raptor since Chris Bosh in 2010 to haul in 15 boards in three straight games … Sacramento opened the game on a 17-2 lead and led by as many as 22 points … Toronto is now just 6-5 in December and 8-5 at home, both numbers aren’t nearly good enough … Patterson set season-highs for points … Ross scored in double figures for the fourth-straight game … Patterson on DeMarcus Cousins: “Hands-down the best centre in the league” … Luis Scola had a rough game, but still contributed on the boards and took three charges in the first half.