The Toronto Raptors (2-2) lost by a score of 104-95 in front of a packed Air Canada Centre to the defending champion Miami Heat (3-2). LeBron James led all scorers with 35 points and another near triple-double effort. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as the Heat are an elite squad who tonight simply outclassed the Raptors – a game like this shows how far apart the teams are.
Sure, the Raps played great in the first half, but there’s two halves to the game. What matters in the NBA is consistency, the Raptors lack this very element on all facets at this point of the season, and it’s quite troubling to observe.
Offence: D+
The more I watch this team play, the less faith I have in Dwane Casey’s ability to formulate an offensive system that compliments the players within it. DeMar DeRozan continued his sold play with 21pts on 8-15FG. This grade may be harsh, but forget the first half where Casey remembered that Jonas Valanciunas was apart of the franchise’s future.
Fastforward to the 4th quarter; winning time! Right? Wrong! The Raptors opened with 7 straight turnovers. The team’s first point of the 4th quarter came on a free throw after four and a half minutes of play. The Raptors went without an actual made basket for the first 8 minutes of the fourth quarter. The team’s struggles on offense are evident and something needs to be done. I’ll note that the free throw shooting was significantly better this game. #FREEJV
Defence: C
Keeping the Miami Heat in check is no easy task. The Raptors simply weren’t able to contain the likes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. LeBron went off for his regular 35 -8- 8 and Wade hit a number of insanely tough jumpers to take the heart out of the defence. The Heat were able to throw a number of bodies at the Raptors tonight, where even Michael Beasely had a chance to be productive. The Raptors gave up too many points in the paint tonight, and failed to rotate on their shooters. Miami converted 10 trey balls on 43.5% shooting. But it’s the Heat, so what can you do?
Rebounding: B
The Raptors kept up their effort on the glass as the league’s leading rebounding team Rudy Gay had another impressive effort on the glass with 10 rebounds; he continues to contribute in other ways because his shot simply is not falling. The Raptors managed only two more rebounds than Miami, which is large in part to Miami shooting 49% from the field. Miami is a vertically challenged team so maybe throwing in a big body could’ve shifted the balance further for the Raptors.
Game Ball: LeBron James & .. Dwane Casey
LeBron James: 35pts (13-20FG) 8rebs 8ast. What more really needs to be said about this guy. I hate him.
On the other hand..
Dwane Casey contributed to this Miami Heat win as well and should get some recognition. I do believe slow claps are in order *clap* …*clap*. Casey’s inability to acknowledge the talented players on his roster is beyond me. He attempts to matchup with the other teams line-up instead of trying to dictate the tempo which is counter-productive in the Toronto Raptors attempt to foster an identity or style of play for this ball club.
Jonas Valanciunas is supposed to be our future franchise player, and the only untouchable on the team, why bench him? He had a great first half, then he comes out and dunks on LeBron to be rewarded with a 4million dollar courtside seat. Talk about not taking advantage of a match-up.
SEGMENT ALERT!
Cage’s Question for Coach Casey: Why are you hating on Jonas Valanciunas?
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