Raptors Perforated by Hawks in Shootout, 125-121

The Toronto Raptors (18-8) failed to conquer the chasm created at the half, as the Atlanta Hawks (13-13) held on for a 125-121 victory.

Thoughts and Observations

• For every Pascal Siakam block there is a missed rotation. He looked amazing in the first quarter where he recorded his three blocks, but Paul Millsap and Dwight Howard ravaged him throughout the rest of the game.
• Patrick Patterson remains the spark the Raptors need to win games. Immediately after checking in during the first quarter, he recorded a steal, a three-pointer and a defensive rebound in succession.
• The DeMar DeRozan plus the bench lineup has continued to be a tragic failure and I hope they stop this experiment soon. Full bench mob with Normal Powell at the 2 is a real option, where Dwane Casey can find ways to rest both DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.
• Lucas Nogueria‘s awareness is still a work in progress. He should be fighting for the rebound on his own misses around the rim.
• The Raptors forgot the house always wins and keep gambling in passing lanes, costing them triples each time.
• Without strong rebounding, the Raptors are getting ravaged on the boards and there isn’t a clear option on the bench to solve this.
• DeRozan is a true student of Kobe Bryant – 26 field goal attempts and even though he was turning it over and getting blocked, he’s still unperturbed taking his next shot.
• Where is Drake?
• Where is the Raptors defense?

RBX (Raptors Bandwagon Exchange)

• Buy: Buy Jonas Valanciunas stock now. I know it’s low and people are questioning whether JV even fits with this Raptors squad, but that’s why you should buy now. He’s gonna come around one last time and it’s going to be at an all-time high before it comes down again, trust me.
• Sell: Start shedding Nogueria stock. If you have it, his dunks look great and his length is phenomenal. All that is distracting fans from his inability on defense and lack of rebounding ability despite his length.

Three Stars of the Night

1. Dwight Howard: 27 points, 15 rebounds and 7-of-10 from the free throw line. If this isn’t a dream stat line for Howard, I don’t know what is. The man could not be stopped underneath the basket, every rebound was retrieved and every alley was ooped.
2. Kyle Korver: His 19 points may not look like much until you realize he detonated, shooting 6 of 10 from beyond the arc. Korver has been relegated to the bench for this Hawks squad, but it hasn’t stopped him from trouncing teams from deep
3. DeMar DeRozan: Another day, another 34-point game. Much to his chagrin, DeRozan only visited the line six times and he wasn’t happy about it. Typically demure, he wasn’t getting his calls, or else he would have easily crossed the 40-point threshold. Did I mention he did this all while shooting  57.7 percent from the field, grabbing two steals and uncharacteristically blocking a shot?

Statline of the Night

54.7 FG pecentage

The Raptors shot 54.7 percent from the field, 47.6 percent from range, scored 121 points and lost…  Casey is a defensive-minded coach, but it hasn’t shown all season. Bismack Biyombo left, but all the other defensive pieces are still there. Powell, Lowry, Patterson, Cory Joseph and DeMarre Carroll all have the reputation of being plus-defenders, but the scheme is failing them. Casey really needs to take look at the Boston Celtics of yesteryear and figure out how they were an elite defense without a true shot blocking big man

What’s Next

The Raptors will take a trip to Disneyland, squaring off against the Magic (12-16) on Sunday night. This is going to be the first meeting between the two teams and the first chance for the Raptors to embrace their long lost brother Biyombo. The Magic have had a rough go through to start the season, but since Biyombo was inserted into the starting lineup, the Orlando defense has started to bolster (sound familiar?). Other than defense, the Magic don’t have anything to offer, but the Raptors are the opposite. This could be a fun matchup.

Next: Why the Raptors Need to Start Patterson

What did you think of the Raptors 125-121 defeat to the Hawks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.