Toronto’s 12th-straight home win wasn’t the prettiest of this run, the record number of free throws saw to that, but it still managed to be one of the most entertaining.
Right down to the wire thanks to the brilliance of Damian Lillard (do Raptors fans still curse Ben Uzoh’s name because he might have cost the team Lillard thanks to his out-of-nowhere triple double late in the 2012 season?), a historic night at the line by DeMar DeRozan (until Kyle Lowry told him to miss the last one intentionally) and Jonas Valanciunas again throttling Portland’s front-line (like he did in Portland).
Lillard’s incredible and this still applies (scroll down).
All in all, another impressive win by the Raptors. Sweeping the Blazers, the NBA’s surprise squad is another feather in the team’s cap. That doesn’t mean there aren’t concerns (namely of the defensive variety), but pulling out these games more often than not is still far preferable to dropping them, which used to be the Raptors way.
GOOD SWITCH
Liked the move by Dwane Casey to start Norman Powell at shooting guard and move DeMar DeRozan to small forward. C.J. McCollum would have been a tough defensive matchup for DeRozan, which would have taken away from his offensive output (and as it turned out, it was very important that DeRozan lit it up on the other end). Al-Farouq Aminu is not a dangerous offensive player (though he has become a solid outside shooter), whereas McCollum is a load.
Powell did a nice job, McCollum still got his, but Powell made him work when he was defending him and also chipped in with his first double-digit scoring game, hitting two threes. Powell works tirelessly on his outside shot, knowing it can earn him a spot in the rotation next season if he can become productive out there. Saw him hit 11 straight at a recent practice and he spent the entire all-star break hoisting up three-pointers. While he filled in at small forward earlier in the year, Powell is much better suited to shooting guard, given his size (and he could even play a McCollum-like combo guard role down the line if he continues to hone his ball-handling and passing instincts).
The more he plays, the more respect he’ll get from officials (McCollum was given some gifts).
AROUND THE RIM
Valanciunas hit double-figures in scoring for the 13th straight game. He added 10 rebounds (four offensive) and only missed one shot. Broken record here, but he needs to get the ball more often. Thanks largely to Valanciunas, Toronto shot 51.5% at the rim against a Portland team that doesn’t defend inside well. On the other hand, Toronto’s rim defence was horrific. The Blazers shredded Toronto’s interior for 80% shooting (20-of-25) … Not a huge fan of the +/- stat in basketball, but for the second game in a row after months of it not happening, Luis Scola had a good +/-, Patrick Patterson a poor one (this even though Scola didn’t make a bucket). Still, that stat doesn’t tell the whole story as Patterson still made a few important plays. Once again, he should be starting … Jason Thompson made a quick debut, playing just over a minute.
Thanks to U of T’s Sports and Business Association for the invite to their conference yesterday. Bryan Colangelo, Michele O’Keefe and Jack Armstrong did a great job at the keynote I was able to attend. Some details here and more coming tomorrow.