Things have not been going well for the Toronto Raptors lately. The losing skid has now hit 5 straight games after tonight’s 106-97 loss to the Phoenix Suns. The team is drifting further away from the .500 mark, and now sits with a 6-12 record on the season.
Offense: C
The Raptors had only 8 turnovers tonight against the run-and-gun Phoenix Suns. Now, onto the bad news— the shots simply were not falling on this night. Credit has to be given to Phoenix, as they held Toronto to only 40% from the field (and just 5 for 19 from beyond the arc). To no one’s surprise, ball movement continued to be an issue for the Raptors, and their 15 assists did very little to disprove that notion. The lack of off-ball movement was a problem in this game as well; too much standing around and waiting for something to happen for the team to legitimately expect a W out of this one.
DeMar DeRozan really had to work to get to his usual spots tonight. He finished 5 for 15 from the field for 13 points against Phoenix’s tenacious defense and only got to the charity stripe late in the game. The way in which the opposition packed the paint while simultaneously pressuring shooters presented a problem that Toronto could not find a solution for. On the bright side, Amir Johnson had a great showing for the second consecutive game, posting 22 points and 7 rebounds in 33 minutes of work off the bench.
Defense: C-
Toronto lost this game by nine points, but things very well could have been much worse. From the opening tip, the Phoenix Suns really controlled the tempo of this game. Whether the Raptors possessions ended in make or miss, the Suns were out running. In many instances during this game, the “seven seconds or less” offense looked more like “five seconds or less”, and Toronto’s players looked absolutely exhausted.
There were moments where the Raptors looked locked in on this side of the floor, but they were few and far apart. Despite the Suns not being the most talented team that Toronto has matched up with, they were definitely the more focused team in this one. The backcourt duo of Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic flourished versus Toronto, combining for 33 points and 8 assists in this up and down game. Former Raptor P.J. Tucker had a great game as well, putting up 18 points and 13 rebounds in the win for Phoenix.
Rebounding: D-
The rebounding (or lack thereof) was one of many things that hurt the Raptors tonight. With Phoenix clearly dictating the pace in this track meet, limiting second chance points for the Suns was of the utmost importance for the Raptors. Unfortunately, the team failed quite miserably on that front. Toronto was only able to pull down 36 boards in comparison to Phoenix’s 52. It’s worth noting that the Suns had 18 offensive rebounds in tonight’s game. It was nice to see Jonas Valanciunas pull down 10 rebounds (to go along with 11 points), but one player can only do so much. Though many observers may justifiably point to Tyler Hansbrough‘s shoulder injury early in the game as the main reason for Toronto’s poor performance on the glass, it still would have been pleasant to see the team play with more fight and desperation— especially considering the losing streak they’re on.
Game Ball – Markieff Morris
There is no denying that Morris had a monster game tonight. He came off the bench to put up 25 points and 11 boards to boost his team to 11-9 on the season. His effort was 100% all night, and he was clearly the best player on the floor.
#TWINsanity (Markieff is the one on the right, if you’re wondering).
