The Toronto Raptors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 96-92 at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night. The Raptors had a few days off after their win against the Utah Jazz to prepare for a big game against the Western Conference leading Grizzlies. Having lost recently on primetime to the Chicago Bulls, it was important for the Raptors to show they can beat an elite level team in the NBA.
This game had many interesting storylines before the game even started. Their is a close connection between the two franchises since they joined the league together in 1995 when the Grizzlies were in Vancouver. It was also a battle between the top team in the Eastern Conference and the best of the West.
The Grizzlies were shorthanded for the game against the Raptors. The team had five players missing the game due to the flu — Tony Allen, Kosta Koufos, Courtney Lee, Jon Leuer and Beno Udrih — and only eight players dressed.
Toronto traffic and transit were crippled by heavy snowfall and frigid weather although it didn’t affect the Raptors play early in the game. Many fans in the crowd may have been late due to the winter weather, but the team started off hot with an early 9-0 lead.
The Raptors are celebrating their twentieth season in the NBA and unlike previous celebrations, the Raptors decided to honour Vince Carter and his contributions to the team. He helped inspire young kids like Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and many of the current young Canadian players in the NBA.
Vince Carter is certainly not the same player he was during his early years in Toronto, but he can still play. He is now an experienced veteran and serviceable role player as he showed with the Dallas Mavericks the past couple years. He started the game strong with some classic crossovers and jumpers although he finished with only 7 points on 3-11 shooting in the game.
It was always going to be a tough night for the Raptors’ frontcourt against the Grizzlies. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol make up one of the best frontcourts in the league. They are known for strong physical play, great rebounding and wearing down their opponents with their post games.
Zach Randolph had a big game against the Raptors. His size caused problems for the Raptors in the post and he bullied Toronto’s frontcourt with 8 offensive rebounds. He was unguardable for majority of the game until Chuck Hayes entered the game in the fourth quarter and slowed down the Grizzlies’ big man. Randolph finished the game with 18 points and 18 rebounds.
Marc Gasol scored a game high 22 points and made 8-of-16 shots. Like Randolph, he was also a force in the post and grabbed 12 boards in 41 minutes of play. Gasol is a unique player with the ability to play physically in the paint, but also has an impressive amount of finesse in his game which was difficutl for Toronto’s frontcourt to contain.
One of the most interesting matchups in the game was the point guard battle between Kyle Lowry and Mike Conley. Lowry was the point guard of the future for the Grizzlies before they drafted Mike Conley in 2007. They are both overlooked in an NBA full of talented point guards and have never been named to an All-Star team. The two players are looking to be recognized this year and have started off the season extremely well.
Kyle Lowry has proven to be the Toronto Raptors’ closer at the end of games. With the game tied 92-92, Lowry made an impressive drive to the paint for two and then hit a clutch fade away jumper over Conley for the 96-92 lead. He recorded 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting, with 7 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
Mike Conley had a slightly better stat line than Kyle Lowry, but he did not lead his team to victory like the Raptors’ point guard. Conley had a clutch shot with his off hand which tied the game at 92 although it wasn’t enough. With so many Grizzlies out with the flu, Conley played 43 minutes and recorded 19 points, 10 rebounds with 5 assists.
Terrence Ross had a huge fourth quarter and was extremely important in the Raptors’ win. He started off with back-to-back drives to the basket and was draining three balls. He had 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and finished 3-of-6 from downtown.
DeMar DeRozan made 10-of-22 shots for a team high 21 points and also had 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. He also showed off some of the skills he worked on during the offseason. He demonstrated his improved handles and a nice left-handed layup in the second quarter.
Once again the Raptors got instant offence from Lou Williams off of the bench. When the Raptors were down ten points in the third quarter he helped lead a 9-0 run with a steal, and-one and a couple threes. He finished with 13 points on 4-of-8 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
With the Raptors win head coach DwaneCasey now has the second most victories in franchise history.
The Raptors were missing James Johnson who did not play in the game. He was on the bench in a suit wearing a boot to protect his injured ankle as he missed the game against his former team last night.
The Grizzlies outrebounded the Raptors 50-35 and had 15 offensive rebounds which prompted to Dwane Casey to give veteran Chuck Hayes some meaningful minutes. Chuck Hayes played extremely well against the Grizzlies down the stretch and used his big body to help contain the Grizzlies powerful frontcourt.
Up next for the Raptors is their final game of the franchise record seven game homestand. They are currently 5-1 with the one loss against the Bulls. The Raptors play the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night and cannot underestimate this Bucks team. Under new head coach Jason Kidd, they are currently 7-5 ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers for second place in the Central Division. The team looks to end the homestand with another win before they head to Cleveland for the second game of a back-to-back when the play the Cavaliers on Saturday.
EZ Bucket 