Well, that was a tough one for the Raptors. As they said after the game, they kind of just gave the game against Sacramento away.
They did get some help, though.
I don’t like blaming the refs, but I also firmly believe the NBA should institute a coaches’ challenge (either one, or one per half, with the penalty if you are wrong being losing a full timeout).
Some calls that seemed pretty straight-forward hurt the Raptors big-time.
Everyone seems to be pointing to the DeMarcus Cousins play late, but he kept his pivot foot down when he finished the play and the NBA seldom calls travels on an extra half-step on superstars (if they did, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, to name four egregious examples, would have way fewer career points).
No, the two big blunders were: Missing Rudy Gay’s clear up-and-down travel just before half-time, which allowed him to hit a three. Those proved to be pivotal points.
As well as another ex-Raptor, Marco Belinelli touching the ball with his leg on its way out of bounds late. Refs aren’t perfect, give them some help in the form of a challenge.
ALMOST A GEM
Through three quarters, DeMar DeRozan was playing as fine a two-way game as we’ve seen from him. He was a force in the passing lanes (five steals through three), made great decisions with the ball (five assists in that same time), got to the free throw line eight times and was generally playing at an all-star level.
Then, the fourth quarter happened and he helped the Raptors lose the game. The stellar passing was gone and in its place were forced jumpers and turnovers. There were no more steals or assists. It’s not all on DeRozan, they aren’t up 10 without his fine play and too much Bismack Biyombo severely limited what the team could do on offence in the fourth, but it was too bad the finish marred such a fantastic performance.
WELCOME BACK
Two positives were the return of DeMarre Carroll’s jump shot (4-for-9 from three-point range after going two for his previous 10 before and after his injury) and Patrick Patterson’s continued resurgence (up to 35% on season from three, after recently being at 24%, thanks to 5-for-9 over past two games).
Also worth noting what an analytics darling Kyle Lowry is. It’s three-pointers or layups for the guy or bust. Very few bad two-point attempts and he’s well-aware of analytics and plays like this purposefully.
He’s launched 20 threes over the past two games, making, 10 of them, and 32 shots overall.
For the season, Lowry has taken 161 shots. Nearly half (69 of them) have been three-point attempts and 60 of them have come right at the rim. That’s a full 80% of his attempts from three or at the rim.
More interesting Lowry shooting info: He rarely takes corner threes, is 12-for-18 from dead-on threes, just 18% from the right elbow, but 38.5% from the left.
TOO MUCH BISMACK?
As noted above, going almost exclusively to Biyombo over Jonas Valanciunas down the stretch proved to be a mistake.
Sure, Valanciunas was terrible when he was in earlier, but with Biyombo on, Sacramento was able to play 5-on-4 defensively against what had been a torrid Toronto offence. The shots became tougher to make, the three-pointers more contested and to top it off, Biyombo, in for his defence, got obliterated by Cousins repeatedly.
Part of it was Cousins is really good, part of it was the referees letting Cousins do whatever he wanted and part of it probably was Biyombo simply playing too many minutes. He’s a guy who has always played limited minutes, largely because of foul trouble, but he was out there for a long stretch. Against a 270-pound wrecking ball like Cousins, those minutes start to feel even longer.
Even if you don’t want to go to Valanciunas, how about Luis Scola. He would keep Sacramento’s defence honest and has the brute strength to at least bother Cousins.
The coaching staff has done a fine job this season, but this decision was a head-scratcher.
As colleague Eric Koreen pointed out, Toronto’s defensive rating with Biyombo on the floor is actually a lot worse (103.8 points allowed per 100 possessions) compared to when Valanciunas is on the floor (96.6).
Random thought: This narrative going around that Andre Drummond is suddenly as good or better than Anthony Davis and should have been the No. 1 pick is laughable stuff, and should be treated as such, but suddenly, Cousins vs. Davis is actually an argument. I’d take Davis, but it would be close, if we’re just talking talent. If you add total package, I take Davis every time, because Cousins is still a wildcard because of his mental makeup.
WHAT’S LEFT
For your interest: The return from the Rudy Gay trade with the Kings that set the Raptors on an intriguing course is now:
Patterson.
Norman Powell (traded for Greivis Vasquez)
Future first round pick from the Los Angeles Clippers (from Vasquez deal)
Lucas Nogueira (Raptors got his rights and a sixth man of the year campaign from Lou Williams for a second rounder and cap-friendly John Salmons contract).
It’s not as good as excellent assets for Andrea Bargnani’s corpse, but still quite a nice return.
THIS AND THAT
The NBA’s worst first quarter team outdid itself, shooting just 29%, down from its usual 35%.
Interesting to see James Johnson back, which gave Carroll a bit of a break. Maybe it was two quick Lowry fouls, which prevented an early Lowry-Cory Joseph pairing, but 10 minutes a night or so of Johnson seems like a good idea.
Another tremendous effort from Cory Joseph, who has exceeded expectations rather substantially so far, no?
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Raptors give away game in Sacramento; Long past time for a coaching challenge in NBA; Nearly golden game from DeRozan; What’s left from Rudy Gay trade
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