Raptors Week Recap- Vets or Youth?

We've raced passed the halfway mark of the Toronto Raptors 2013-14 NBA campaign, and after a 2-2 week, the Raptors sit just two games in front of the resurgent Brooklyn Nets. This week saw a number of truly special individual performances from certain Raptors, yet left Raptors fans wanting more. It was another fun week of Raptors Ball, but a couple of things troubled me. Which leads me to a mini-rant...

VETERANS OVER PROSPECTS

If you've ever read any of my blogs before, then you'll likely know I'm a huge believer in Jonas Valanciunas as a key building block for this team's upcoming title run. He's a raw talent with all the potential in the world; offensively gifted, a solid defender (who is getting better with each game, despite clear flaws at times) and an active rebounder.  Dwane Casey's tendency to bench Jonas in favour of veteran big Chuck Hayes really worries me, especially when Hayes is given the responsibility of closing out games; maybe Chuck will play slightly better defense, but I'd like to see Jonas given the opportunity to learn and develop. 

To me, it seems like if Jonas' opponent scores a couple of early buckets, Casey gets it in his mind that Jonas is outmatched and refuses to trust him for the rest of the night. Jonas only playing 18 and 19 minutes, like he did against Charlotte and Philadelphia respectively, is, for me, not enough.

The same situation applies with Terrence Ross, who aside from his ridiculous outing against the Clippers, had a pretty quiet week. Terrence, who brings terrific energy on D, is being left out of late game situations in favour of veteran John Salmons, and backup guard Grievis Vasquez. Again, get him in there, Coach. You know what you're going to get from Salmons, sure; fundamentally sound play on both ends of the floor, but Terrence is more than capable of delivering what Salmons can, especially when given the experience the opportunity will bring.

The theory I'm throwing out there is this; Casey is, at least partly, ignoring what must surely be his goal moving forwards, to make stars out of Valanciunas and Ross, and instead chasing wins, in the hope that a 45 win season would bring him a new contract. Casey is much more content to put his faith in the hands of seasoned veterans like Hayes and Salmons over Valanciunas and Ross. Which I do understand completely, as winning is obviously just as important, but I just wish some sort of balance could be found between the two co-occurring goals. And just by the way, Coach Casey, look at the Dallas win; you threw Jonas in the game and said "bring it home for me, big fella", and look what he did- 5 points and 5 key rebounds down the stretch.



BOBCATS 100, RAPTORS 95

Not pretty. Not pretty at all. The Raps continued what is becoming a really worrying trend, dropping behind by a huge margin and relying on fourth quarter heroics to try and steal a victory, and in this game, it failed. Down 30 at one stage, Kyle Lowry missed a high-pressure free throw late in the fourth that would have tied the game, and the Raptors bid to set a new franchise-high comeback would fall just short.

The slow start? The Raptors' pick and roll defense was simply non-existent in the first quarter, with Charlotte able to establish their lead off of 8/12 shooting in the paint. While the defensive energy clearly lifted throughout the game, for which credit should go the bench unit of Patterson-Salmons-Hayes, I'm a bit sick of getting stuck in these 30-point holes. I love that we fight, and there is just no quit in this Raptor lineup right now, but let's work on our starts so as not to rely on unlikely comebacks.

3 votes- GRIEVIS VASQUEZ (15pts, 6/13FGs, 9asts, 7rebs, +23)
2 votes- CHUCK HAYES (12pts, 5/9FGs, 13rebs)
1 vote- KYLE LOWRY (21pts, 9/22FGs, 4asts, 4rebs)



RAPTORS 93, MAVERICKS 85

Demar's career night

This was a pretty impressive bounce-back game after the Charlotte loss, although, again, the Raps trailed big (21 points) early. This was Demar DeRozan's night, though, as he carried the Raptors back from the early hole, going 15/22 from the field for a career-high 40 points. Demar, who I've criticized recently for an over-reliance on the mid-range game, did still settle for a lot of those types of shots, but he was feeling it on this night. He also took the ball to the rim a heap (6/9 from the paint), and shot a stack of free throws. Kyle Lowry had a poor, yet forgivable night; 0/10 shooting, but let's not forget that he's been the catalyst behind this team's success. 

3 votes- DEMAR DEROZAN (40pts, 15/22FGs, 3rebs, 3asts)
2 votes- GRIEVIS VASQUEZ (17pts, 5/13FGs, 7asts)
1 vote- JONAS VALANCIUNAS (12pts, 3/6FGS, 10rebs) 



RAPTORS 104, SIXERS 95

Let's keep this brief. The Raptors won a game of basketball, that was mildly entertaining. Kyle Lowry took his one bad game so far this season pretty badly, clearly, and responded with a triple double. Demar dropped a less-efficient 34, but was influential nonetheless.

3 votes- KYLE LOWRY (18pts, 7/11FGs, 13asts, 10rebs)
2 votes- DEMAR DEROZAN (34pts, 10/22FGs, 9rebs)
1 vote- JOHN SALMONS (12pts, 5/7FGs)


CLIPPERS 126, RAPTORS 118

Terrence dropping 51

In a game where defense was totally inapparent, the Clippers and Raptors traded blow after blow, in a high-paced, entertaining thriller at the ACC. Terrence Ross was burning hot, and took over the Raptor offense, in a performance that closely resembled Carmelo Anthony's 62 point game the previous night. Ross ended up tying the Raptors' franchise record with 51 points. While this was one of the most special individual performances I've ever seen, I left this game with a real sense of disappointment; the Raptors had a chance to mark a young player's best game ever with a special win, but missed the opportunity off the back of a lack of defense. 

Was this Ross' coming of age? I hope so. I'm not getting carried away, but consider this; Terrence's career night showcased every skill he has to offer as an NBA pro. Elite long-range shooting, mad handles and pure athleticism. This 51 point night was everything clicking and going right; Terrence has a bag full of tricks which will be fine-tuned with time, and lead to him being a more-than-capable Pro for seasons to come.

3 votes- TERRENCE ROSS (51pts, 16/29FGs, 9rebs)
2 votes- JONAS VALANCIUNAS (17pts, 5/9FGs, 12rebs)
1 vote- KYLE LOWRY (11pts, 2/10FGs, 12asts, 4rebs)


NEXT WEEK- @BROOKLYN, ORLANDO, @DENVER, @PORTLAND. Hmmmm. 2-2? 3-1? 1-3? Brooklyn is a big, tough game but I think we can maybe pinch it. Orlando is an easy win. The next two are both very tough but we've made a habit of competing/beating good teams on the road. For the record, I'll predict 2-2.

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Nick Young, Lakers Humble Raptors

LAKERS 112, RAPTORS 106

Cheer up, Sophomores.

Despite leading big in both the second and third quarters, the Toronto Raptors couldn't hang with the Los Angeles Lakers down the stretch, falling to a second defeat in three games. Nick Young, playing with a point to prove after his recent suspension, led the Lakers with 29 huge points, including five 3-point buckets. The Raptors fall to 20-19 on the season, and should feel as though this was another missed opportunity to move further above the fourth-placed Atlanta Hawks.



- I've said it before, and it looks like I'm going to have to say it again; this is not a team that should be jacking up 30 3-point attempts in a game. Terrence Ross is becoming completely reliant on the three, failing to use his ridiculously athletic body to drive the ball. The Amir Johnson "summer three" is funny and entertaining when it drops, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a far too risky shot, and Amir throwing up 4 threes is way over the top. It's really disappointing, because shooting 30 threes tells me that we're having extreme trouble creating good looks on offense. 

-Pau Gasol taught Jonas Valanciunas a lesson this game. The Lakers kept feeding Gasol the ball in the deep post, and he would continuously spin to the basket, or score right over Jonas. Jonas needed to keep a body on Gasol and defend with a little more strength, and as a result only saw 14 minutes of action; while I'd normally complain about Jonas being limited in this way, he was getting killed out there, and we needed to curb Gasol's influence. Chuck Hayes actually did a much better job, making a number of key stops on Pau down the stretch. 

DeRozan- 2/10 from midrange and deep.

-This was the sort of game Raptor fans seemed to fear from Demar DeRozan upon Rudy's departure; very hero-ball centred, and way too much jump-shooting. It's been pretty clear that the difference between the Raptors before and after the Rudy Gay trade has been crisp ball movement offensively, so I really do have to wonder why we're moving away from this, especially in clutch situations. While I respect Demar a lot and continue to enjoy his development into an All-Star, he needs to stop trying to always be the hero, or at least draw contact driving to the rim and make some easy points at the line.

-Twice we lead by huge margins (19 points up in the second, 17 points up in the third). In the second quarter, the Raptors earned the lead on the back of brilliant defense, only allowing 4 points in the first six minutes of the quarter. However, the energy level on D clearly declined, and the Lakers were able to score 21 points in the next six minutes, seeing the Raptor lead only 4 points at the break. The third quarter saw a similar scene, where Nick Young and Ryan Kelly found their range and quickly ate up the Raptor lead. The point is this: the Raptors can't play tight defense for only halves of quarters and expect to remain in the lead. Imagine what a quality team like Miami would do to us, if we gave them 6 minutes of lacklustre defense.

-Swaggy P. It was always happening, wasn't it? Fresh after his suspension for fighting the entire Suns line-up, Nick Young came off the bench to score 29 points, including big threes down the stretch to kill of the Raptor fight. Yes, he shoots too much, he takes terrible shots, and has a seemingly terrible attitude, but when he's feeling it, Swaggy P is a whole lot of fun. 

PLAYER VOTES

3 votes- PATRICK PATTERSON (17pts, 7/12FGs, 7rebs). Maybe I'm sick of having to call Lowry our best player every night, but I loved what Patrick did off of the bench. He drained his first 5 shots, only taking premium level looks, harassed the Lakers' bigs on both ends, and had some nice second chance points too. Earned the right to close out the game, especially with Jonas' poor night. 

2 votes- KYLE LOWRY (21pts, 8/13FGs, 9asts). Kept the team in the game late with some big buckets. Continue to love his ability to find the open man, especially him combining with DeRozan for that curling wing jumper. As good as he was, I wanted a little more out of Kyle, maybe making a couple more of the open shots he found, but nevertheless, a good showing.

1 vote- GRIEVIS VASQUEZ (11pts, 5/11FGs, 8asts, 5rebs). Grievis has been heavily criticized recently, and I still feel that the backup Point Guard role remains the need requiring the most urgent attention. This, however, was a pretty good night from Grievis, aside from his 1/5 shooting from downtown. 


NEXT- DECEMBER 20 @ CHARLOTTE. Raptors need to get back to their winning ways and handle the Bobcats tomorrow. This is the second flat performance from the Raps in the last three games; the wheels haven't fallen off, but the standard of play is certainly decreasing. The next few games will likely tell us whether we really are the 3rd best team in the East, or if the boys have just been playing at a ridiculous level.

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Raps Week Review !!

So, I just wanted to do a quick little Raptors week recap, to keep my Raptor of the Season votes rolling. This was a solid, yet not amazing week from the Raptors; while a 2-1 week is nothing to worry about, losing in the ugly fashion they did to the struggling Boston Celtics does raise a number of questions.


vs Milwaukee-  RAPTORS 116, BUCKS 94

Just a regulation win for Toronto, in which the Ersan Ilyasova- lead Bucks showed exactly why they hold a 7-30 record. In yet another sign of this Raptors resurgence, the Raptors demolished the Bucks in the second half; consider past seasons, where the Raps would often let teams back into games they had dominated.

3 votes- KYLE LOWRY (23pts, 6/8FGs, 4/5 3PTs, 5asts). Money from distance, dropped 23 points off 8 shots. Continues to lead the team on both ends. 

2 votes- DEMAR DEROZAN (19pts, 8/16FGs, 7rebs, 7asts). Filled up the stat sheet. Two Raptor All-Stars....what a ridiculous concept...

1 vote- JONAS VALANCIUNAS (17pts, 5/10FGs, 10rebs). Did his thing.



vs Boston-  CELTICS 88, RAPTORS 83

You could take this loss in a number of ways; an unacceptable performance against a team that hadn't won in 9 games, or just a mere blip on the radar, a flat performance where a basic lack of fundamentals killed the Raptors. While I give a lot of credit to Jared Sullinger for his 25 point, 20 rebound night, this was an awful game from Valanciunas and Johnson, who were only able to combine for 13 rebounds in their time on the court. We all consistently praise Amir for his heart and hustle, but I didn't see any of that on this night. I think Tyler Hansbrough would have made a difference in this game, but there's no excuse for this performance either way. 13 missed free throws killed any chance of a heroic late comeback. Don't stress Raptors fans, we hadn't had a horror night like this since December 18 against Charlotte.

3 votes- DEMAR DEROZAN (23pts, 9/22FGs, 8rebs, 3asts). So what he took 22 shots, Demar made play after play to fight the team's way back into the game. 

2 votes- KYLE LOWRY (18pts, 6/17FGs, 12asts, 7rebs). Not one of Kyle's better games, but there wasn't much to choose from here. The Boston defense was actually noticeably decent which culled a lot of his usual playmaking. 

1 vote- JOHN SALMONS (13pts, 5/9FGs). I've got to admit, I love having a reliable veteran on the bench who you know is going to come into the game and provide a solid offensive option, to go along with tight defense.  



vs Minnesota- RAPTORS 94, WOLVES 89

Toronto needed to respond from the Boston performance, and did so with a quick early start, and then leading the game all the way after. The Wolves helped our cause by shooting a poor 3/18 from 3 point range, but credit must be given for another tough defensive night from the Raptors. 

3 votes- KYLE LOWRY (24pts, 7/12FGs, 6/9 3PTs, 6asts, 5rebs). His six 3-pointers were the difference between the two sides in the end. Limited Rubio's offensive input to the point where Barea closed the game in his place.

2 votes- JONAS VALANCIUNAS (4pts, 2/6FGs, 11rebs). Only 4 points, but his work on the glass was a massive factor in this Toronto victory. Pekovic and Love's input and ability to dominate the boards was not very apparent, and when you consider Amir only pulled in 2 rebounds, we've got to thank Jonas for keeping them at bay (shout out to my boy Chuck Hayes for his 9 rebounds, too). Surely earned more than 23 minutes, Coach.

1 vote- TERRENCE ROSS (16pts, 6/14FGs, 4rebs, 2stls). Didn't need the three-ball to be dropping to contribute, showed off his ability to score off the dribble. 


NEXT- DECEMBER 19 vs LA LAKERS

Looking ahead, we should comfortably handle the Lakers at the ACC, then travel to Charlotte for a rematch with a team we just keep losing to. The rest of the sees Dallas come to Toronto, a quick trip to Philly to battle the Sixers, then home to take on the Clippers. I'll call we'll finish with a 4-1 record; if we keep up the form from the Minnesota game rather than the Boston one, we'll pinch one of the home games against Dallas and the Clippers. 

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Drake Night Thoughts!!

RAPTORS 96, NETS 80.

I took a lot away from this victory over Brooklyn. This was a truly special win, in that the Raptors, in playoff-like atmosphere, again came from behind to roll the Nets. A few quick notes + votes...

-I think that was the most hyped-up Toronto game I've ever watched. Sold-out crowd, intro video, player introductions broadcast on the coverage; this was as close to a playoff game as you could get. Sure, the Nets were missing Garnett and Williams, but this game felt like a really big deal, and is exactly the sort of atmosphere/pressure the boys need to get used to for the development towards a title run. When you also consider that this was a divisional contest, and that the Raptors trailed 10 and looked awful late in the third period, this was most certainly an important win.

- I'm not from Toronto (writing this from Melbourne, Australia), but hearing Drake talk about Toronto with such passion genuinely made me very proud. Toronto, to me, is that underdog city/team that the rest of the league considers one huge joke. Hearing Drake raving about how good Toronto has been to him was pretty awesome, and I really do hope he can have some sort of influence in changing the perception of the team.

-Man, our Sac-Town bench was superb tonight. John Salmons didn't miss a shot, Patrick Patterson dropped 14 points and grabbed 12 big rebounds, and Chuck Hayes provided vaguely solid relief for the starting bigs. I'm still a bit worried about the backup Point Guard role, as Grievis Vasquez has shown he is an inconsistent shooter and a horrible defender, but it's definitely nice to see the bench carrying the team to wins. Don't agree that it was the bench that won us the game? Patterson was +40, and Salmons was +32.

-I've been thinking; if one Raptor is an All-Star, who is it going to be? Lowry or DeRozan? I think currently it should be Lowry, based on him being the leader of this team's resurgence, but it is a truly close contest at the moment. There are a lot of moments when DeRozan keeps the team in games essentially single-handedly, so I do understand the case for Demar to be in front of Kyle, too. As much as we love to rave about both of their play, I highly doubt both will make the cut, but, due to Toronto's resurgence and high-placing in the Eastern Conference, I really do think one of the two must make the team.

PLAYER VOTES

3 votes- PATRICK PATTERSON (14pts, 5/12FGs, 12rebs, +40). I feel like I had to reward Patrick for a really strong performance, because his energy off the bench was really what changed the game. I remember that Patterson had a very solid reputation on leaving Kentucky, and it seems as if he is finally playing up to that promise.

2 votes- DEMAR DEROZAN (26pts, 9/18FGs, 7rebs, 5asts). Another terrific performance from Demar. Matt Devlin always says about Demar that he is "sick of losing", and I really think Matt is spot on. His huge first quarter throw-down reminded me of what a crazy dunker he can be, and I really he dunked more.

1 vote- KYLE LOWRY (12pts, 4/11FGs, 4asts, 6rebs). Kid's a beast, that's really all there is to say. How about that smirk after one of his huge threes, just cheeky Kyle saying "yeah, I just did that". Too good right now.

NEXT- 14 Januray vs MILWAUKEE.

As always, thankyou for reading, please comment or share or anything like that, and please follow me on Twitter @mitchymitchy4

Valanciunas Dunk Party: Raps Crush Pistons

RAPTORS 112, PISTONS 91

Didn't think I'd be typing this at halftime, when the Toronto Raptors trailed the average-at-best Detroit Pistons 54-50, but this was a quite enjoyable game that provided plenty of entertainment. Raptor fans got to watch another showcase of Jonas Valanciunas' potential, Kyle Lowry continue to prove himself as a top-flight Point Guard, but, most importantly, we got to watch a team that will be, for the most part, centred around Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings; high-level humor.

- Jonas Valanciunas kept throwing his pump-fake, and the poor Detroit defenders just kept falling for it. It was really quite comical. I love to get carried away when Jonas has big games like this, I acknowledge that, but this was a great, fun performance from the Lithuanian. With DeRozan struggling, it was nice to see Jonas get the team going with his play to start the second half. I'm still sold on the fact that Jonas will be an absolute beast Center, and it's awesome to see his game developing with leadership like this.

- The 75 seconds to start the second half really were perfect. If I were Dwane Casey, I would have had a fair crack at the team at half time, so the response was extremely positive. Terrence 3. Amir huge block. Demar transition layup. Detroit shot clock violation. Terrence 3. 8-0 run. 54-50 Detroit becomes 58-54 Toronto, and we're then playing from the front. This set the tone for a terrific half on both ends of the floor. 

- A big contributing factor to the first-half struggle was the three-point shooting, I feel. Taking 11 three-point shots in the first quarter alone seems a touch unreasonable; sure, some of them were dropping, but a lot of these were not good looks, and the team seemingly feel into a rhythm of relying on the three. The three-ball is fun, but I'd like to think we can come up with a lot better offense than that. 

- I don't see a lot of potential for the Detroit franchise right now. Call me overly negative, but Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings are fundamentally selfish, and take really awful shots. Drummond and Monroe is a cool front-court duo, but they both looked poor on defense. Drummond showed his ridiculous free-throw technique, too, which provided endless laughs. Josh Smith shot 3/9 at the line, got angry at the refs and his teammates, and showed, to me, what an overrated player he really is. By all means prove me wrong Detroit, but I don't see that team going anywhere at all.

-Brooklyn. Milwaukee. Boston. Minnesota. LA Lakers. Charlotte. There's 6 very winnable games coming up. If we're the third best team in the Eastern Conference, we're winning 5, if not 6 of these games. We've done so brilliantly in our recent tough stretch (think of our wins at Dallas, Oklahoma City and Indiana) and our schedule is now levelling out; time to start racking up the wins.


PLAYER VOTES

3- JONAS VALANCIUNAS (16pts, 7/9FGs, 11rebs, 2blks). Terrific performance, threw down 4 dunks that made Raptor fans across the globe collectively lose it. Some nice defensive involvement, too.

2- KYLE LOWRY (21pts, 4/9FGs, 9/9FTs, 9asts). Sign. Him. Up. Kyle is getting paid this off-season. Can we get him to commit long-term, and keep bringing this energy and commitment on a nightly basis? We can only hope.

1-TERRENCE ROSS (17pts, 6/13FGs, 5/10 3PTs). Eh. He made a lot of threes. He also took a truckload of them, so he'd want to be making a few. I like Terrence shooting with confidence, but shooting 10 threes just seems a bit over the top. Hope he doesn't forget he is a freak athlete who should use his gifts to get to the rim with ease.

NEXT- DRAKE NIGHT. Enough said.