Handling Business in Denver

RAPTORS 100, NUGGETS 90

The Toronto Raptors extended their current winning streak to three games with a comfortable performance against a depleted Denver Nuggets side. Missing Ty Lawson and Nate Robinson, the Nuggets were able to hang with the Raptors for the first half, before the Raptor defense switched on for the second half and sealed the victory. 

- If you haven't seen Terrence Ross' ridiculously brutal dunk over Kenneth Faried, then watch it. Right now. Your life will not be complete until you have seen it. Seriously though, this was probably the biggest talking point of this match, which says a lot about what a routine victory this was. I don't know whether this was dunk of the year, but I'll say this; Terrence's jam was FAR superior to Paul George's candidate. Sure, George's was extremely flashy, but it was a fast-break, open-court jam with nobody even attempting to stop him. Terrence smashed over a 6'8 beast, and, at least in my opinion, this pure brutality was the far more difficult, and in turn, more impressive jam.
Also, as I noted on Twitter, the boys' reaction to that dunk was really quite special, and maybe even a little bit heart-warming. Watching them all jump up and collectively lose their minds, then chase after Terrence as they went to the rooms at halftime, all smiles and shouting praise at him, to me illustrated how much this roster loves playing with each other, and how they all take pride in each other's success. 

-Ridiculous dunks aside, this was a nice game from the Raps, and a particularly tidy second half. After the Nuggets had scored in the paint with ease throughout the first half, and found shooters like Evan Fournier in loads of space, the Raps picked up the defensive energy in a big way. Forcing 9 turnovers in the third quarter, the Raptors can particularly thank Tyler Hansbrough and Amir Johnson for the lift, as well as John Salmons and Patrick Patterson who always bring the energy off the bench. The Raptors are making a habit of stringing together multiple stops and building leads off the back of this.

- Maybe I say this too much, but this was another important win for the Raptors. This game tipped off a tough five-game road-trip (Denver, Portland, Utah, Sacramento, LA Clippers), and when considering the Nuggets injuries, this became a relatively straightforward game. While this win rewrote history a little, in that this was the first Toronto win in Denver since 2003, Randy Foye was pretty much their best offensive option. This was not a game we should have been losing, so it was nice to see the boys handle business without much of a hassle. 

-Injury notes: Demar DeRozan started, played 33 minutes, and looked solid. The ankle seemed not to trouble him, so look for Demar to keep playing and coming up big on the rest of the road-trip. Tyler Hansbrough chimed in with 13 minutes (up from the 6 he played against Orlando) and looked terrific. He did classic Tyler Hansbrough things, scrapping for rebounds and drawing insane amounts of contact  when putting the ball back up. I'm hoping Tyler can keep making an impact off the bench, because he can be the leader of this bench unit.

PLAYER VOTES

3 votes- TERRENCE ROSS (18pts, 7/10FGs, 3asts, 3blks). Smart play, efficient scoring, dunk of the year candidate. I rave about Jonas' potential all the time, but I've got to say that this kid's potential is just as large. Has the ability to become an all-round player through lockdown defense, too.

2 votes- JOHN SALMONS (11pts, 4/9FGs, 9asts, 2stls). Might be reaching a little bit here, but I really liked Salmons sharing the ball on offense. Sure, he played some Rudy Gay-ball at times, but he provided a nice spark off the bench, fed Jonas late when he recognized the big-man's great positions, and was very involved on the defensive end as well. 

1 vote- JONAS VALANCIUNAS (13pts, 4/10FGs, 8rebs). Much better than what the numbers suggest. Appreciated guys like Lowry and Salmons recognising Jonas in good spots, and this meant that Jonas got to show-off his ever-evolving offensive game, particularly with his back to the basket. He made his free-throws, too, a skill that a lot of bigs in this league seem not to possess. 


NEXT- FEBRUARY 1 @ PORTLAND. Tough one, especially on a back-to-back. Look for the boys to continue to show their fighting spirit, and keep the game competitive, but other than that, this isn't one we should count on winning. Utah and Sacramento both look winnable, and I do wonder whether T-Ross will still be on the LA Clippers scouting report as 'just a dunker'. 

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