Sunday’s Raptors loss against Houston definitely was a strange one. In another example of “that’s why they play the games” what looked like an easy Raptors win – tired Rockets coming in after a listless performance in Chicago against a rested group looking to right things defensively a bit – turned into one of the worst losses of the season. Blowing an 18-point advantage at home is brutal and nobody on the Raptors looks good for it. That includes the coaching staff, which had perhaps its worst night of the season.
The weird technical on Dwane Casey really hurt the Raptors and the rotational decisions were way off, to a degree we haven’t seen throughout the year.
James Johnson, who had been playing perhaps his worst basketball of the season over the past couple of weeks, was up for the challenge of checking James Harden and was the best player on the floor in the first quarter. He was much quieter in the second quarter and picked up two fouls, but again heled Harden in check (just four free throws as they matched minutes).
Now Harden did come to life against Johnson in a solid third quarter, but nowhere close to the way he erupted in the fourth (20 points). Johnson had done easily the best job on Harden all night, yet didn’t see a minute in the fourth as Harden won the game basically on his own. It was baffling to see.
The argument probably was more offence was needed with the Rockets blitzing DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry like few teams have all year, but Johnson had already hit two three-pointers and handed out four assists. My counter would be the way Harden was torching you, better to try to put a cork in him even if your offence suffers at the other end.
In the long run, though, this could be a useful loss for a Raptors team that has been a bit of a mirage.
Many issues have been covered up by the seemingly non-stop parade of wins.
Chief amongst them has been a puzzling defensive cliff-dive. Toronto ranked seventh overall defensively at the end of January. Since, the team is better than only four clubs, four truly awful clubs at that (Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets).
This shouldn’t be happening. If it continues, the Raptors could lose to any opponent in the first round. That would result in big changes, starting with surely letting Casey go (next year’s contract is not yet guaranteed, even though he’d finish in the top five if a coach of the year vote happened right now) and possibly moving on from DeRozan, though that is extremely unlikely based on his connection with the fanbase and his ticket-selling ability as the face of the franchise, as well as his popularity amongst potential free agent additions.
Is this too much doom and gloom for a team that would still be .500 even if it lost each of the final 20 games of the season? Perhaps, but this season is all about what happens in late-April and in May. The most effective offence this side of the Bay is nice, but without any defence, the Raptors will not last long and any happy memories generated so far during this stirring campaign will quickly evaporate into the ether.
AROUND THE RIM
Besides the overall defensive issues, another source of moderate concern is the recent slippage of the bench. Cory Joseph and Patrick Patterson were as good as they have ever been in February, but the first week of March was rough for both of them. Terrence Ross has been active defensively, but the team really sizzles when he is making shots, and he’s only hit at a 30% clip the past three games on a lot of attempts. Bismack Biyombo also hasn’t been quite as much of a defensive terror. The bright side? Norman Powell and Lucas Nogueira have had some nice minutes when called upon and starter Luis Scola has his best outing since Jan. 3, looking like the Scola of early on, who was a key contributor.
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Loss to Rockets a season low-light for Raptors, coaching staff included
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