In typical fashion, the Toronto Raptors pulled off a thrilling 92-96 victory over the Western Conference leading Memphis Grizzlies on a snowy day up north. This game had nearly everything we’ve come to expect from this year’s squad: a sluggish defensive start, a strong presence from the home crowd, a late comeback leading to a clutch finish and a massive performance from the backcourt. In the absence of reserve James Johnson, the home team put on another impressive fourth-quarter showing after 36 minutes of disappointment. The final frame was run by Terrence Ross, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the quarter. Kyle Lowry logged 18 points (including the game-sealing bucket with eight seconds left) and seven assists while DeMar DeRozan contributed 21 points on 10-22 shooting. On the flip side, Memphis saw an incredible outing from its talented frontcourt. Zach “Z-Bo” Randolph put up a monstrous 18 points and 18 rebounds, and Marc Gasol added 22 points and 12 boards. Toronto improves to 9-2 on the season to stay atop the Eastern Conference, while the Grizz still lead the West at 10-2. Before we assign the report card, let’s take a moment to acknowledge tonight’s monumental tribute to Raptors legend Vince Carter.
As part of the team’s 20th anniversary celebration, they chose to honour the greatest player to ever don the purple and red. As evidenced in the video, Carter was emotionally moved at the tribute as well as the unprecedented standing ovation from Toronto fans. However, as soon as Carter checked into the game, the familiar boos were back in full form. This is totally okay- he deserves applause for his time as a Raptor, but today, he remains an opponent on the visiting team. With that being said, let’s dive into tonight’s post game report card:
Offense: A
There were no major causes for concern on this end of the floor tonight. Aside from the reliable production from Lowry and DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas scored 10 points on four of seven shooting, while Lou Williams chipped in 13 points of his own. JV mysteriously logged just 22 minutes on the night, leaving Chuck Hayes to fill in and bolster the late-game closing effort. Greivis Vasquez contributed one buzzer-beating three to end the first quarter, but failed to produce anything else for the remainder of the contest. Overall it was the final offensive push from Ross which fueled the comeback and willed his team to a win. Hopefully he can sustain this type of play on a consistent basis, because it’s exactly what Toronto needs.
Defense: B+
It can be successfully argued that Memphis has the most dominant frontcourt in the entire NBA. With James Johnson sitting out due to injury, the Raps were left shorthanded in stopping the bigs from scoring. While Mike Conley and vetern Tayshaun Prince had solid offensive performances of their own, it was the Raptors’ signature ability to close which stole the game from the River City. Hayes and Amir Johnson successfully congested the paint and limited their opponent’s opportunities around the rim. The only complaint here is continuity. This team needs to apply their fourth-quarter defensive mentality to all 48 minutes- it’ll save us all the stress of a valiant comeback.
Rebounding: C-
Here’s the problem. Sure, Memphis has two of the best big men in the league at their disposal. However, they had only eight active players and still managed a 50-35 victory in the rebounding category. For an elite team like the Raptors, this is unacceptable. The absence of Johnson does warrant a bit of excuse, but we all expect better outings from Valanciunas (four boards) and Patrick Patterson (five). Look for this to be a point of improvement in the immediate future.
Game Ball: Vince Carter Terrence Ross
As previously mentioned, Ross came through with an epic shooting performance in the final minutes which inspired his teammates to close it all out. His stroke is there and so is his confidence. All that’s missing in the third-year’s path to stardom is consistency. Ross deserves this acknowledgement because we need more of this from him- hopefully this will become a normality.
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