Well, that was something. Despite a valiant effort in the game’s late moments, the Toronto Raptors fell to the Charlotte Bobcats tonight, losing 92-90. This was a game that Toronto should have taken, but the team failed develop any sort of rhythm until it was a bit too late.
Offense: C+
So far in this young NBA season, it appears as if when the Raptors finally find something that is working to get the ball in the bucket, they stray away from it. Why? I cannot answer that question. In the game against the Bobcats tonight, Toronto excelled when they were able to get the ball in the open court, and they did an okay job when they chose to attack the paint. But of course, the team did not stick to this formula for a long enough portion of the game. Sure, Rudy Gay scored 20 points, but he had to take 21 field goal attempts to get them. It’s somewhat of an improvement from the last couple of games, but his performance on offense could definitely still be better. It did not help that DeMar DeRozan was dull on offense tonight too, finishing with 14 points on 5 of 16 shooting. On the bright side, Toronto made 13 of 15 free throws; which is a welcome change from prior games this year.
Defense: C
Had the Toronto Raptors not tightened up on defense while making their late game run against the Bobcats tonight, this would probably be a lower grade. For a good portion of this game, the Raps were allowing too many easy looks for their opposition in the half court. Gerald Henderson lit up Toronto for 23 points tonight, knocking down mid-range jumpers almost seamlessly. As a team, the Bobcats shot 49% from the field— in other words, the Raptors did not get the job done on this side of the floor. When Toronto did actually play defense for an extended period of time, they gave themselves a good chance at sneaking away with a win. They got out in transition, and in turn, their offense improved. However, poor late game execution caused the comeback to fall short. The team elected not to foul, when trailing by two, with under 30 seconds remaining in the final quarter (while the Bobcats had a full shot clock to work with). To combat this, Charlotte simply took a late jumpshot that killed the time left on the game clock when it clanked off the rim. Dwane Casey, I’m looking at you for this one. Not quite sure what the thought process was.
Rebounding: B-
With Al Jefferson sitting out for Charlotte, the Raptors did not gain a substantial rebounding advantage tonight– they only finished with 38. Jonas Valanciunas carried his weight, grabbing 10 rebounds to go along with his 12 points in 28 minutes. Amir Johnson chipped in 7 rebounds in the loss.
Game Ball – Amir Johnson
Amir Johnson‘s contribution of 13 points and 7 rebounds tonight was needed by the Raptors tonight. He hustled and scrapped for everything in the paint, and was selective with his patented “summer three”, going 1 for 2 from downtown. If Johnson can avoid becoming too infatuated with his new jumpshot, it will be continue to be a positive addition to this Raptors offense that needs it right now, quite frankly.
