Post Game Report Card: 27 Point Lead Not Enough For Raptors To Beat Warriors

I’m not sure what to say right now. At all. The Toronto Raptors led 75-48 in the third quarter. They were up by 27, and still couldn’t win the game. And yes, this is the worst collapse in franchise history. This, my friends, is why everyone outside Toronto (and even some in Toronto) think the Raptors are a joke. And at this point, I don’t blame them.

The Golden State Warriors outscored the Raps 42-15 in the 4th quarter, and I can’t even put the blame on Dwane Casey. Sure, he could have maybe told his team to close out on the threes taken by Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry, and maybe adjusted the defensive gameplan, but it’s not reasonable to expect that out of a head coach.

Overall though, this one was truly a team effort – blame can be shared by virtually every member of the Raps tonight.

I don’t even want to go look at the box score, but I guess I kind of have to. Here’s the report card.

Offense – F 

Ok fine… B+ 

Rudy Gay finally shot the ball at 50% FG! Yay! On a more serious note, the Raps shot the ball at 52% tonight, and were absolutely fantastic for the first 3 quarters. DeMar DeRozan finished with 26, Kyle Lowry finished with 20 points and 9 assists (and was fantastic tonight) and Amir Johnson finally showed some life, scoring 16.

The ball was moving, they were hitting shots, and we saw Steve Novak hit 3 triples in a row which was awesome. But then, the 4th quarter saw tougher D by Golden State, leading to turnovers, tough shots, same old story.

Defense – F

I’m not changing this one. Absolutely garbage 4th quarter defense by a ‘defensive minded team’ headed by a defensive minded coach. Casey decided to double team the Warriors despite them continuing to move the ball and drill three pointers. They weren’t particularly effective throughout the game, but letting up 42 fourth quarter points headlined by three bombs and easy lay-ups is simply unacceptable.

Pitiful 4th quarter D, and the failure to adjust is on Casey. Failing to have common sense falls square on the players’ shoulders.

Rebounding- C+

The Raps ended up outrebounding GS 38-36. Amir contributed 10 and Tyler Hansbrough grabbed 9. The problem? The Raptors didn’t get a single defensive rebound in the 4th quarter.

Game Ball- Steph Curry

I have no idea how Curry hits half the shots he does. The bottom line is that this Warriors team caught fire in the 4th and Steph headed the attack. 27 points and 10 assists, including multiple daggers down the stretch. This one really, really stings, folks.