The Toronto Raptors have lost a significant game, as they fell to the Boston Celtics off a Jae Crowder fadeaway game-winner from the baseline which just left 0.8 seconds left on the clock. I just can’t believe that this happened. 95-93 was the final score.
After a scorching start, the Celtics romped back. The contest turned into a lot of back and fourth, with the Celtics ultimately delivering the final knockout punch. The refs certainly didn’t help the Raptors in this one, with several crucial calls going in favor of the Cs.
The Raptors are now 4th and will likely stay in that spot given the situation at hand. For some reason, the Raptors rested DeMar DeRozan. I’m not quite sure what the reasoning behind it was, but evidently the Raps didn’t feel a real need to win this one. The 50 win dream is dead, the easy first round match-up is also likely out of reach. Prepare yourselves, Raptors fans. I guess we can get to the report card.
Offense – C
After a fantastic first half of team basketball, the Raptors sputtered. The ball started to stick, we saw some absolutely ridiculous shots from Kyle Lowry and Lou Williams, and it ultimately buried the Raptors. The intensity wasn’t there offensively, and Dwane Casey continues to come up short on that end of the court. 20 turnovers isn’t going to get it done.
A silver lining is that Amir Johnson returned, and made 4 out of 5 shots, meaning the Raptors will be fully healthy for the playoffs. Contrarily, Lowry has looked quite bad, and will need to return to early season form soon, or it will certainly spell trouble.
Defense – B
For the most part, the Raps held their ground defensively. However, there were certain plays where you just have to wonder. It’s as if the team takes breaks at random points during the game for some reason. It didn’t help that the refs were absolutely atrocious on one of the most important games of the season.
Rebounding – C+
The Raps were outrebounded 50-43, and gave up some key boards down the stretch. Shoutout to Amir for grabbing 8 boards in 15 minutes.
Game Ball – Nobody
Everybody on the Raptors pretty much sucked tonight. Nobody on Boston stood out as deserving a game ball either. So, too bad.
I’m scared for Washington, guys.
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