Toronto

Game in Tweets: Raptors vs. Knicks 14/12/14

Evan Bball Game in Tweets , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Toronto Raptors escaped Madison Square Garden with a 95-90 overtime victory against the New York Knicks. It was an ugly win for the Raptors who faced a Knicks team that featured a pair former Toronto players — Jose Calderon and Quincy Acy. The Knicks are an abysmal 5-21 while the Raptors improved to 18-6 this season.

Early in the game Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross both picked up two fouls and were pulled from the game to ensure they did not get into any further foul trouble.

 

However it was also the whole team that had a tough time defending the Knicks without fouling. The Raptors were lacking defensive intensity in the game and committed a lot of potentially questionable fouls early on.

 

So far this season the Knicks have struggled and there was one play which pretty much summed up their entire season. Former Raptor Quincy Acy elevated and attempted to throw down a ferocious jam which rattled around the rim and popped out.

 

The Knicks’ subpar performance this year has subdued the crowd at Madison Square Garden. Throughout the game the broadcast alluded to the fact that the Garden seemed quiet and didn’t have its usual buzz.

With Knicks’ fans lulled to sleep, the #WeTheNorth nation invaded New York to support the Raptors. As they have done in Cleveland and Los Angeles this season, the fans entered an opponents arena and became the dominant voice cheering on the Raptors on the road.

 

Despite the fan support on the road, Toronto struggled in the game. They lacked effort on the defensive end and committed a lot of turnovers which allowed the lowly Knicks to stick around in the game.

 

A very interesting matchup heading into the game was the battle between former teammates Kyle Lowry and Jose Calderon. The two point guards went at each other on both ends of the floor although it was Lowry who won the matchup.

He finished with 21 points and 11 assists in the game for his seventh double-double. However he committed a season high 9 turnovers in the game which was uncharacteristic of him as he is only averaging 2.1 turnovers per game this season. Lowry is also the only player who is averaging more than 20+ points and 10+ assists in the month of December. So far he has an average of 21 points per game and 10.1 assists per game this month.

 

After falling into early foul trouble, Ross returned to the game and played extremely well. He had two huge fastbreak jams which electrified the Raptors’ fans at Madison Square Garden. He also did a great job in the second half scoring 13 of his 22 points in the third quarter.

 

Ross made some important buckets in the fourth quarter of a close game. The Raptors were ahead by two points with under a minute remaining when Carmelo Anthony drove past Patrick Patterson for a game tying lefty layup. The Raptors had two chances to win it at the end of the game, but could not convert the chances which sent the game to overtime tied 86-86.

Patterson started off the extra period with a three pointer and the Raptors didn’t look back. Toronto survived the scare from the Knicks and improved to a perfect 3-0 against the Atlantic Division this year.

Up next they take on the Orlando Magic in the second game of a back-to-back. The Raptors will look for their third win over the Magic this season as they return home to the Air Canada Centre for Monday night’s game.

 

Game in Tweets: Pacers vs. Raptors 12/12/14

Evan Bball Game in Tweets , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Toronto Raptors defeated the Indiana Pacers 106-94 at the Air Canada Centre on Friday night. The Raptors are now 4-3 without their all-star DeMar DeRozan and the Pacers have now lost their last seven consecutive games. Toronto improved to 17-6 and have been at the top of the Eastern Conference for 27 straight days.

The team was well supported once again by the hometown fans. So far this season, Toronto is ranked sixth in the NBA with an average attendance of 19,648 fans at each home game. However some people believe they should rank higher than sixth overall.

 

For the second straight game Landry Fields started in place of the injured DeRozan. He had another solid outing for the Raptors and finished the game with 8 points on 2-of-4 shooting and 2 rebounds in 21 minutes of action.

 

Jonas Valanciunas continued to play well early in games and had 6 points and 5 rebounds in the opening quarter. He recorded his third straight and seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and 14 rebounds in the game. Although he struggled shooting the ball against Indiana’s bigs making only 3-of-12 shots from the floor.

 

The Raptors jumped out to an early lead, but it was C.J. Watson who kept the Pacers in the game. He scored seven of Indiana’s first fourteen points although despite his best efforts Toronto was up 28-20 after the first.

The Raptors also committed an uncharacteristically high number of turnovers in the first quarter. They are currently tied for second in the NBA with an average of 11.7 turnovers per game. Toronto had 5 turnovers in the opening quarter however they did take better care of the ball the rest of the game and finished with only 10 turnovers.

At the end of the first and in the second quarter it was Lou Williams who provided scoring off the bench. He scored 14 of his game high 26 points in the first half of the game and shot the ball efficiently making 9-of-18 overall, a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line and 5-of-7 from three.

 

The Raptors were up double digits at halftime and then in the first minute of the third quarter Pacers’ starting center Roy Hibbert picked up his fourth foul. He was forced to play with caution which led to a pair of easy buckets in the paint by Amir Johnson that were assisted by Kyle Lowry.

 

Kyle Lowry had a solid performance for the Raptors with 9 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds in only 26 minutes of action. He played limited minutes in the game, but the set the tone early for the team.

 

Lowry left the game with about three minutes left in the third quarter and did not return. It wasn’t because of an injury, instead the Raptors bench was able to take control of the game in the fourth which gave Toronto’s leader some much needed rest considering he has played heavy minutes since the DeRozan injury.

Greivis Vasquez was 0-of-5 from the field until he led the Raptors bench in the final quarter. He found his shooting stroke and finished the game with 10 points and 4 assists. Vasquez even had an unlikely block on the defensive end.

 

James Johnson was a big factor off the bench for the Raptors. He scored an efficient 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and was a plus 19 points in 15 minutes of playing time. He also electrified the crowd with a huge jam that sealed the Raptors’ victory.

 

The story of the game was the Raptors’ bench which finished the game with a season high 64 points. Toronto had five players who finished the game in double figures and four of them were their reserves — Lou Williams(26), James Johnson(13), Patrick Patterson (11), and Greivis Vasquez (10).

The Raptors took care of business against a struggling Pacers team and they have a favourable schedule coming up. In the next five games, their opponents — the Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks twice — have a combined winning percentage of .388 and a combined record of 26-67 so far this season.

Next up for the Raptors they travel to New York to take on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks snapped a ten game losing streak with a 101-95 win against the Boston Celtics last night. The Raptors are 2-0 against teams in their division so far and will try to stay undefeated against Atlantic Division opponents.

 

Game in Tweets: Raptors vs. Cavaliers 09/12/14

Evan Bball Game in Tweets , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 105-101 for their eight straight win. They have not lost since the Raptors beat them 110-93 at the Quicken Loans Arena on November 22nd. Cleveland is fourth in the conference and are leading the Central divison with a record of 13-7 while Toronto is still first in the East with a record of 16-6. However the Raptors are only 6-4 in their last ten games and more importantly 3-3 since DeMar DeRozan got injured.

Raptors’ head coach Dwane Casey made a last minute adjustment to the starting lineup. Greivis Vasquez who had started every game since the injury to DeRozan returned to his reserve role and little used Landry Fields was inserted into the lineup. Fields matched up against LeBron James at small forward and Terrence Ross started at shooting guard.

Fields made the most of the opportunity and had a solid performance against the best player on the planet. He defended James well and also contributed on the offensive end of the floor. He recorded 4 points on a perfect 2-of-2 shooting with 2 assists, 2 steals and one rebound in 23 minutes of action.

 

Once again Toronto made an effort to give Jonas Valanciunas the ball in the post. Like the game against the Denver Nuggets the night before, the Raptors tried to get him going in the first quarter. He recorded his second straight double-double and finished with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 15 rebounds.

 

The Raptors started the game off strong and looked motivated early in the game. When the bench entered the game in the second quarter they helped Toronto take a double digit lead. The bench was led by James Johnson who recorded 12 points, 4 rebounds, one steal and one block in 21 minutes of playing time.

 

The Cavaliers also got a spark off their bench from third-year player Dion Waiters. He caused problems for the Raptors defensively and was able to score at will in the second quarter. Waiters finished the game with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 21 minutes.

 

Despite Waiters’ best efforts the Raptors were ahead eight points by a 63-55 margin at halftime. The third quarter was extremely close, but the Cavaliers won the quarter with a slight 26-25 advantage. The Raptors entered the fourth quarter with a seven point lead against James and the Cavaliers.

Toronto’s starting point guard was trying to lead his team to a road victory against a star-powered Cleveland team without DeRozan. With NBA All-Star voting starting on December 11th there were many fans campaigning for Lowry to make this year’s team after being snubbed last season. Lowry recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds in the Raptors’ loss.

 

LeBron James led the Cavaliers comeback with 35 points on 12-of-21 shooting. The Cavaliers went on a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter which was capped off by a Kevin Love three which tied the game at 97-97.

 

Despite the fact that the Raptors won the battle on the boards by a 35-31 margin, they struggled rebounding the ball in the fourth quarter. There were a pair of key possessions at the end of the game when they gave up three offensive rebounds and two offensive rebounds in two different defensive series.

 

Then with only 48.1 seconds left in the game, James made the Raptors pay for their inability to grab a defensive rebound. The ball was swung out to a wide open LeBron James who knocked down a three that gave the Cavaliers a 102-99 lead.

 

Ultimately it was a fairly disappointing loss considering the Raptors were in control for most the game and then just crumbled at the end. However it is better to look at the positives from this game opposed to focus on the negatives.

Firstly the Raptors led most of the game and nearly won on the road without their all-star shooting guard DeRozan against a Cavaliers team that were early championship favourites entering this season.

Secondly this will be a valuable learning experience for a young team looking to grow into a legitimate contender. It will serve as motivation and show them what is required if they hope to take that next step towards being an elite team.

Finally the result is undoubtedly disappointing, but it shows the organization and its fans that this team, even without DeRozan, is able to compete with one of the best teams in the conference.

Up next the Raptors face the Indiana Pacers at home on Friday night. They are 7-14 so far this year and it is a very different Pacers team than the past couple year. They are missing both Paul George and George Hill due to injury while Lance Stephenson left the team in the off-season signing with the Charlotte Hornets. The Raptors will need to take advantage of a shorthanded Pacers team in order to get back on track.

Game in Tweets: Nuggets vs. Raptors 08/12/14

Evan Bball Game in Tweets , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Toronto Raptors needed overtime, but they came back for a 112-107 win against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets were without their starting power forward Kenneth Faried and the Raptors were without their all-star DeMar DeRozan for the sixth straight game.

It was also a game between Raptors’ general manager Masai Ujiri’s current team and his former team the Nuggets. Ujiri was Denver’s general manager from 2010-2013 and was named NBA Executive of the Year in 2013 before he signed a five year contract with Toronto.

At the beginning of the game it was third-year player Jonas Valanciunas who led the Raptors. He scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, grabbed 5 rebounds and played the entire 12 minutes of the opening quarter. Toronto’s starting center had a great game although he inexplicably saw little minutes at the end of the fourth and no minutes in overtime. He finished the game with his fifth double-double comprised of 18 points and 12 rebounds.

 

Lou Williams had a come back game after an underwhelming performance in the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers last Friday. Williams provided instant offence off the bench as usual with a team high 26 points, but the most notable play could have been the block he had in the second quarter.

 

In the first half there was little to no defence played by either of the two teams. The Raptors were ahead 62-52 at halftime thanks to 61% shooting from the field compared to 50% shooting by the Nuggets.

There was a change to the Raptors’ lineup at the beginning of the second half. Patrick Patterson took Amir Johnson’s place and coach Deane Casey explained after the game that there were some concerns about his ankles. However he did return to the game and played some crucial minutes down the stretch.

 

At one point of the game Toronto’s lead had grown to seventeen points, but Denver chipped away and got back into the game in the third quarter.

A big reason for the comeback was the play of Aaron Afflalo. He was left wide open a number of times and drilled some corner threes. He finished with a team high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 4-of-7 from long distance. Fortunately for the Raptors, Kyle Lowry was able to contain Afflalo in crunch time.

 

Afflalo was assisted by fellow backcourt member Ty Lawson who helped lead the Nuggets’ charge. Lawson finished the game with 22 points and 12 assists in 49 minutes of action. He recorded his eleventh double-double of the season and is currently ranked third in the league with an average of 10.4 assists per game.

 

Lawson recorded a better stat line in the point guard battle, but it was Kyle Lowry who led his team to victory. These two players are naturally compared to one another considering they were both signed to identical 4 year/$48 million dollar contracts.

Before the game Lowry was named the Eastern Conference Player of the week although he struggled shooting the ball and was only 3-of-13 from the field in 41 minutes. Despite the shooting woes, he recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 assists.

 

Former Raptor Charles Oakley was sitting courtside last night at the Air Canada Centre for the game against Denver. At one point in the third quarter he was shown on the jumbotron and was given a standing ovation by some fans in the crowd.

 

The Raptors were down 102-99 late in the game and missed a number of attempts to tie the game. Then in the final minute, Patrick Patterson caught the pass from Lowry and drilled a game tying three which sent the crowd into a frenzy. He recorded 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting and had 8 rebounds in a clutch performance.

Toronto took hold of the game in the extra period and secured the victory sending the fans home happy with a free slice from Pizza Pizza.

Up next the Raptors play the Cavaliers in the second game of a back-to-back tonight in Cleveland. They won their seventh consecutive game against the Brooklyn Nets last night at the Barclays Center in front of British royalty — Prince William and Kate Middleton — as well as North American music “royalty” — Jay-Z and Beyonce.

Toronto will look for revenge against Cleveland after losing 105-91 on their homecourt last Friday.

 

Game in Tweets: Cavaliers vs. Raptors 05/12/14

Evan Bball Game in Tweets , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Cleveland Cavaliers won their sixth consecutive game with a 105-91 victory against the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre. The Cavaliers got revenge for a loss against the Raptors in Cleveland a couple weeks ago and are now 11-7 this season. The Raptors have lost three of their last five games and are 2-2 since the injury to DeMar DeRozan.

Last night it was the anniversary of the death of Nelson Mandela and the Raptors honoured the late legend before the game against the Cavaliers. Raptors’ general manager Masai Ujiri specifically requested that the Raptors played at home last night so they would be able to pay tribute to his idol.

 

There were many stars in town for the Mandela tribute including Tracy McGrady, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and Dikembe Mutumbo. McGrady was also celebrated for his contributions to the franchise as they have done for other former players throughout the twentieth season. The Raptors also played a montage in honour of Johnson’s career and the Air Canada Centre crowd gave the NBA legend a standing ovation.

 

The Cavaliers came out with lots of energy and were out hustling the Raptors. Amir Johnson kept them in the game early with his work in the paint and on the glass. He had 12 points and 3 rebounds in the first although they were down 30-21 after the opening quarter. He finished the game with a season high 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and one steal.

 

Kevin Love had his long distance stroke going early in the game. He was a perfect 3-of-3 from downtown in the first for 9 points and 4 rebounds. He recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

 

Brampton native Tristan Thompson caused the Raptors problems throughout the game. He was outworking the Raptors’ big men on the glass and grabbed nine offensive boards. He had 21 points and 14 rebounds off the bench for the Cavaliers.

 

Raptors’ point guard Kyle Lowry continued to play heavy minutes since the injury to their starting shooting guard. He played 40 minutes in last night’s game and has averaged 39 minutes in the last four games without DeRozan which is significantly greater than his season average of 34.5. He had another solid outing and finished the game with 22 points and 9 assists.

 

However it wasn’t all good for Lowry who got a questionable technical foul called against him in the second quarter.

 

Then minutes later the referees issued a technical foul to the Cavaliers’ Dion Waiters. It arguably could have been a make up call for the technical called against Lowry just a couple of minutes prior.

 

The Cavaliers were ahead at halftime 51-44 and the Raptors attempted a comeback in the third and even took a one point 59-58 lead after a Lowry three pointer. However the Cavaliers went on a run and widened their lead to double digits.

In the fourth quarter the Raptors had a questionable strategy of double teaming LeBron James which led to a number of easy buckets. James is one of the best passers in the NBA and was able to find the open man repeatedly leading to quality shots.

James recorded his eighth double-double of the season and had a significantly better outing against the Raptors this time around finishing with 24 points, 13 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and one block.

 

The Raptors were outmatched by the Cavaliers without their all-star shooting guard DeRozan. Last time against the Cavaliers he played a great game on both ends of the floor. In particular, he had his best defensive outing and did a great job guarding James in the second half of that game.

Toronto also had a tough time against the intensity of the Cavaliers. Cleveland played with lots of energy on the defensive end and held the Raptors to one of their worst shooting nights so far this season. The Raptors shot 40.7% from the field, 33.3% from three and 65% from the free throw line.

Cleveland dominated Toronto on the glass in last night’s game. They outrebounded the Raptors by a slight 48-40 margin although the team’s inability to contain the Cavaliers’ big men was a big factor in the loss.

Up next for the Raptors is another game at home against the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. The Nuggets are 9-10 so far this season although they have won seven of their last ten games. The Raptors look to take care of the Nuggets on the first night of a back-to-back before traveling to Cleveland for a rematch against the Cavaliers on Tuesday.

 

 

Game in Tweets: Raptors vs. Jazz 03/12/14

Evan Bball Game in Tweets , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Toronto Raptors completed the sweep of the season series against the Utah Jazz with a 123-104 win in Salt Lake City. They finished 2-1 on their mini three game west coast road trip without their all-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan. It was also their second game of a back-to-back after defeating the Sacramento Kings the night before.

The Raptors played well in the first quarter although there was a scary moment when Tyler Hansbrough was undercut by Jazz big man Rudy Gobert.

 

 

Greivis Vasquez scored early and often against the Jazz. He continues to play extremely well in DeRozan’s absence. He was the first Raptors player to reach double digits and finished with 17 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.

 

 

In the second quarter the Raptors started to pull away as we got a highlight play from Jonas Valanciunas. James Johnson drove the lane and fed the Lithuanian big man for the finish. Valanciunas had another solid yet underwhelming performance with 9 points, 6 rebounds and one block in 33 minutes of action.

 

 

The Raptors’ offence was firing on all cylinders in the first half of the game. Even without their leading scorer Derozan, they had a sixteen point lead and dropped 69 points on the Jazz at halftime.

 

A big factor was the Raptors ability to hit from long range. At halftime the Raptors were 8-of-11 from downtown for a blistering 72.7%.

 

Kyle Lowry led the way for he Raptors with his best game of the season. He scored a career high 39 points and shot the ball extremely efficiently. Lowry made 13-of-22 shots from the field, 4-of-5 from three and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line. He has increased his production since DeRozan’s injury and is averaging 31.6 points and 8.6 assists while shooting 46.4% from the field and 37.5% from three over the last three games.

 

Lou Williams returned to form after a relatively off game for him the night before against the Kings. He drained a buzzer beater and made the off balance jumpers Raptors’ fans have come to expect on way to 17 points off the bench. The Raptors are now 12 -2 when Williams records double digits.

 

 

Terrence Ross continued to play well with DeRozan out of the lineup. He is averaging 17 points per game on 57.1% shooting from the field and 50% from downtown in 33 minutes of playing. These numbers are significantly higher than the 11.7 points per game, 46.3% shooting overall, 43.5% from three and 27.1 minutes per game he is averaging so far this season.

 

 

Patrick Patterson had another solid contribtuion off the bench for Raptors. He has now scored double digits in the last four games and last night he had 13 points on 3-of-4 from three and 5-of-6 overall. Patterson also finished the game as a plus 29 while on the floor against the Jazz.

 

The Raptors played extremely well in the second night of the back-to-back. It was a team effort as six players finished with 10+ points in the game — Kyle Lowry(39), Greivis Vasquez(17), Lou Williams (17), Amir Johnson (13), Patrick Patterson  and Terrence Ross(11).

Toronto shot the ball extremely well and made 57% of their shots overall, 57.1% from three and 87.5% from the free throw line. Also every player shot at least 50% or better with the lone exception of Valanciunas who finished 4-of-9 from the floor.

Up next the Raptors play the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time this season. After beating the Cavaliers 110-93 on November 22nd in Cleveland, the Raptors are hoping to defeat them at the Air Canad Centre on Friday night. The Cavaliers have won four straight since the loss to Toronto and will be looking to avenge the defeat a couple weeks ago.

 

Game in Tweets: Raptors vs. Kings 02/12/14

Evan Bball Game in Tweets , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

After losing their last two games against the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers, the Toronto Raptors picked up their first victory since DeMar DeRozan suffered a groin injury. The Raptors held on for a 117-109 win against the Sacramento Kings last night and improved to 14-4 overall this season and are now 1-1 on their current three game west coast road trip.

Every Tuesday night the NBA allows the fans to vote for which game is shown on NBA TV and last night’s game was selected to be shown on Fan Night. The fans had spoken and the Raptors and the Kings were in the national spotlight.

 

Unfortunately for the Kings, DeMarcus Cousins missed his third straight game due to an illness. This was good news for Raptors fans because Cousins averages 22.9 points per game against the Raptors which his highest total against any team in the league.

 

With Cousins missing the game, this opened things up for a solid game from Jonas Valanciunas. He played well in the game with 15 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw and he also grabbed 8 rebounds.

At the beginning of the game it was all about Terrence Ross. With the absence of DeRozan, Ross stepped up and started the game a scorching 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 4-for-4 overall. He scored 15 of his 20 points in the first quarter of the game.

 

Behind Ross’ hot start the Raptors finished the first with a 31-22 lead. However the Kings closed the gap with some strong play from second year player Ben McLemore. He scored 21 points in 39 minutes of playing time and absolutely posterized Amir Johnson with a fastbreak dunk in the second quarter.

 

James Johnson responded to the McLemore dunk with a highlight play of his own. He drove the lane against his former team and finished with a huge jam. Johnson was motivated against his old team and had his best game since returning from an ankle injury he suffered earlier this season. He finished the game with 19 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.

 

The Raptors had a slight 57-55 lead at halftime. Toronto came out strong with 35 points in the third quarter which gave them a double digit lead. From that moment on they were in control of the game although the Kings attempted a comeback.

With a just a minute left in the game the Raptors were ahead by only four points when Kyle Lowry hit a clutch step back jumper that made it 113-107. Lowry sealed the victory with the jumper and played extremely well against the Kings. He recorded his fourth double-double this year with 27 points and 13 assists as well as 2 steals and one block in the game.

 

In the absence of Cousins, Rudy Gay led the Kings and had a good game against his former team. Gay had a double-double with 20 points and a career high 10 assists as well as 6 rebounds in the game.

 

 

The Raptors franchise was transformed when they traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, Chuck Hayes and John Salmons. The team was 6-12 last year before the trade and then finished the season with an impressive 42-22 record after sending Gay to Sacramento. Since the trade, the Raptors have one of the best records in the league and have not lost three consecutive games.

Greivis Vasquez played well again in his second start of the season. He finished with 12 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds against his former team. Vasquez had struggled shooting the ball early in the season although in the last four games he has found his stroke making 26-of-49 for 53% from the field and 10-of-20 for 50% from downtown.

 

Patrick Patterson continued his strong play with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting overall and 2-of-3 from three and also had 3 rebounds off the bench. Over the last three games he is averaging 10.6 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game.

 

A lot of the statistical categories were very close in the game, but the difference maker was the Raptors ability to hit three pointers. The Raptors were 10-of-23 for 43.5% while the Kings were only 3-of-10 for 30% from beyond the arc.

The Raptors took care of business on the road without their all-star shooting guard DeRozan and will look to end their three game road trip with a win against the Utah Jazz tonight. The Raptors defeated the Jazz 111-93 at the Air Canada Centre on November 15th and they look to sweep the season series with another victory tonight in Salt Lake City.

 

Game in Tweets: Raptors vs. Lakers 30/11/14

Evan Bball Game in Tweets , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Raptors started a three game Western Conference road trip with a 129-122 overtime loss against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. It was their second road loss this season and the first the time the Raptors have lost consecutive games.

The Raptors were cheered on by a number of fans that made the trip down to Southern California. The #WeTheNorth nation showed up to support Canada’s only NBA team as they took on the Lakers.

 

After leaving the game Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks, DeMar DeRozan did not make the trip to his hometown and will miss an extended period of time. With DeRozan sidelined with a groin injury, Greivis Vasquez was inserted into the starting lineup. He started off strong in the first as well as the beginning of the third and finished with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 5 assists. Vasquez has played extremely well recently and is averaging 18 points and 4.6 assists over the past three games.

 

Kyle Lowry is the leader of the Raptors and attempted to carry the team to victory without his backcourt mate DeRozan. He was on a mission in the first and had 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in the opening quarter. He did his best to try and lead the Raptors to victory however it wasn’t enough as he finished with 29 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds before fouling out of the game.

 

Unfortunately for the Raptors, Kobe Bryant had one of those games where he willed the Lakers to the win. He started the game a perfect 4-of-4 from the field for 8 points with 4 rebounds and 2 assists in the first. He had his best game of the season so far and recorded his twentieth career triple-double with 31 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. His passing and court vision were on full display with a number of sweet passes which led to a little history. Bryant became the first player in NBA history with more than 30,000 points as well as 6,000 assists.

 

In the second quarter the Raptors’ perimeter defence was extremely poor and the Lakers made them pay for it. They were making easy shots and their offence looked impressive against Toronto’s lack of defence.

 

Nick Young came off the bench and lit up the Raptors in the second quarter. The player nicknamed Swaggy P finished the game with 20 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting from downtown and 6-of-11 overall.

 

In the third quarter Raptors’ coach Dwane Casey tried to ignite the team’s defensive effort by inserting Tyler Hansbrough into the game. He missed the last five games with a shoulder injury and he returned last night against the Lakers.

Lou Williams also came to life in the second half of the game. Williams scored ten points in the third quarter which was capped off with a huge drive and jam in the lane. He had 19 points off the bench and it was his eighth straight game where he scored double digits.

 

In the fourth quarter the game was extremely close until Young hit a three pointer with only one and a half minutes remaining which gave the Lakers a four point lead. The Raptors battled back and tied the game at 109 and even had the ball with the chance to take the lead with less than thirty seconds remaining. Kyle Lowry drove the lane but was called for an offensive foul which gave the Lakers the chance to win the game. Bryant was given the last shot and he blew by defender James Johnson and had a clear path to the bucket before he was blocked by Jonas Valanciunas.

Valanciunas struggled through the game as he recorded only 9 points on 4-of-10 shooting with 13 rebounds, but he made the most important play against Bryant with the game on the line.

The Lakers pulled away in overtime for the win against the Raptors who never led in extra time. Los Angeles was the worst team in the Western Conference, but they were able to defeat the best team in the Eastern Conference with a team effort. All five starters finished in double figures with Bryant leading the way. Kobe currently leads the NBA in scoring with an average of 26.6 points per game and if he could be the oldest player to lead the league in scoring since Michael Jordan did it in 1997-98 with an average of 28.7 points per game.

It could be a rough couple of weeks for the Raptors with DeRozan out of the lineup. Toronto continues the west coast road trip with a national TV appearance against the Sacramento Kings on NBA TV Fan Night. Then the next night they travel to Salk Lake City to face the Utah Jazz before returning home.

Dunk of the Week: Nov 19th – Nov 25th

Evan Bball Dunk of the Week , , , , , , , ,

After selecting the best dunk from the past week, I decided to go with a certain theme. There were a number of candidates this week, but ultimately the selections were nice dunks by unexpected Raptors’ players.

 

Dunk of the Week

Greivis Vasquez in transition vs. Milwaukee Bucks

Just over a week ago in the game against the Chicago Bulls on TNT, Vasquez attempted to throw down in transition. This lead to the question, can Vasquez really dunk? Like a unicorn it was mysterious and elusive until Vasquez responded to the question with a redemptive jam in transition against the Bucks.

 

Honourable mentions

Bruno Caboclo alley oop vs. Milwaukee Bucks

Not only was it his first NBA points, but he did it in style with the alley oop and the crowd went absolutely crazy after he threw it down. I cannot think of a time when a crowd was so into a game when a team was up nearly 50 points, but this dunk had the whole crowd energized which led to the Air Canada Centre crowd chanting “Bruno”.

 

 

Landry Fields putback slam vs. Milwaukee Bucks

So far this season, Fields has only appeared in five games and is averaging a lowly 2 points per game in 4.3 minutes per game. Although he has not seen very much playing time this year, he reminded us that he can still dunk the ball. With no Bucks’ player boxing him out, he came running down the lane for the sweet putback slam after the missed free throw attempt.

 

Game in Tweets: Raptors vs. Hawks 26/11/14

Evan Bball Game in Tweets , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Toronto Raptors defeated the Atlanta Hawks 126-115 and improved to a franchise best 4-1 record on the road to start the season. It was the sixth win in a row for the Raptors which is something they have not done since 2009. For the Hawks it was only their second home loss so far this year and are now 5-2 at Philips Arena.

The Raptors were focused early in the game although the same could not be said about the staff at Philips Arena. Toronto finished the first with an impressive 34 points despite there being a number of game clock and technical difficulties during the opening quarter.

 

Georgia native Lou Williams made his return to Atlanta after being traded to Toronto during the off-season. The Raptors acquired Lou Williams and prospect Lucas “Bebe” Nogueira in exchange for the expiring contract of John Salmons. This season Williams has revived his career and has played extremely well for the Raptors off the bench. He had 12 points in the first half and finished with 22 points and 3 steals in the homecoming.

 

DeMar DeRozan shot the ball efficiently in the win against the Hawks. He finished 8-of-16 overall, 2-of-3 from downtown and a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe. He recorded a game high 27 points although he committed three uncharacteristic traveling violations in the first half.

 

Terrence Ross had it going on early in the game, but did not produce at all in the second half. He scored all of his 12 points in the first half and he played 22 minutes. He also shot the ball well making 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.

 

At the beginning of the second half the Raptors made a conscious effort to feed Jonas Valanciunas. He benefited from a number of pick and roll plays with Kyle Lowry which resulted in some easy baskets. However he only played 24 minutes and finished with a near doube-double of 11 points and 7 rebounds in limited action.

 

Once again Lowry showed that he is the unquestioned leader of this team. Whenever the Raptors need a timely bucket it is Kyle Lowry that takes over. He had a rough night shooting the ball only making 3-of-12 field goal attempts, but he still did a great job running the offence and getting to the free throw line. Despite the shooting difficulties he finished with his third double-double of the season with 14 points and a season high 13 assists.

 

Jeff Teague played a great game for the Hawks and was a tough matchup for Lowry all night. His speed caused the Raptors guards problems all night and he recorded an extremely efficient double-double. He shot 7-of-14 from the field, 2-of-3 from three and 8-of-8 from the freethrow line for 24 points as well as 12 assists in the game.

 

Backup point guard Greivis Vasquez had his best game of the season last night. He had been scrutinized for his play this season and responded with a huge game off the bench. He was en fuego in the fourth and scored the team’s first twelve points of the quarter. He was doing it on both ends as well and even drew a charge on the defensive end. Vasquez had a season high 21 points on an efficient 8-of-12 shooting in only 17 minutes of playing time.

 

One talking point throughout the game against the Hawks was the organ player at Philips Arena.  The Twittersphere had mixed reactions to the game being played with an organ accompaniment.

 

It was one of the Raptors’ best offensive game so far this season. The team finished with a season high 126 points in Atlanta. They shot the ball efficiently and made 51.2% from the floor, 48.3% from downtown and 84.8% from the charity stripe. The Raptors also finished with seven players in double figures which included all five starters — Lowry, DeRozan, Ross, Johnson, Valanciunas — as well Williams and Vasquez with 22 and 21 points respectively.

The Raptors bench outscored the Hawks by a 52-27 margin. For the second time this season, Toronto won the battle on the boards against Atlanta last night by a 36-32 margin.

Up next the Raptors face a tough Western Conference opponent at home on Friday night. The Dallas Mavericks will make their one and only appearance at the Air Canada Centre as they look to continue their winning ways. They are 11-5 this season and have won seven of their last ten games. The Raptors will be rocking the 20th anniversary purple jerseys against the Mavericks before heading on the road for a mini three game west coast trip.