The Toronto Raptors were unable to get 3 straight wins, and 5 straight on the road, after they ran out of gas in San Antonio. It was a terrific fight by the Raptors for most of the game, being within 3 points, 4 points, 7 points, 9 points, and such. They just did not have enough left in the tank, along with being out-rebounded and some bad turnovers, not to mention some crazy three-pointers late in the game to seal it. This was easily one of the most productive road trips this Raptors team has had in awhile, and one the team can take into their next game vs. the New York Knicks. Do not be fooled by the final score, the San Antonio Spurs are a different animal.
Offense: C+
In the first half, the Raptors were turning the ball over at a horrid rate, mishandling 10 times, compared to the Spurs’ six. For the most part, the turnovers were unforced, but even with their turnover numbers, the Raps still managed to shoot 51.4% from the field as a team, and 33% from the 3-point line. The Raptors have also continued to build on their trend. After the first half, they had 11 helpers. In the second half, the Raptors continued their solid shooting, finishing the game with nearly 46% from the field, 33% again from the perimeter, and passing that 20 assist line with 21. The one problem I couldn’t grade this team any higher, was the turnover numbers. They improved significantly in the second half, only turning it over 3 times, but the turnovers were too much of a blunder early in the game.
Defense: B-
The first half was solid, forcing San Antonio to shoot nearly 43%, and 30% from the 3-point line. The team did not do a great job of taking away penetration, though. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were finding seams and holes in the Raptors’ defense, leading to easy baskets at the rim and lots of kick out opportunities, resulting in 15 assists after one half of basketball. Despite holding the Spurs to under 45% from the field, they allowed them to take 54 shots, in comparison to the Raptors’ 35. The second half, the Spurs had a much more difficult time getting to the time, but were able to counter that with their ability to hit the three point shot. Their field goal shooting improved to 45%, along with their perimeter shooting, finishing around 39%. The Spurs also shared the ball 27 times, but even though the Spurs had some great numbers, their defense was the reason early on they were able to keep within arms length.
Rebounding: C-
It wasn’t exactly great rebounding by the Raptors tonight, especially from the first half. The Raptors were down 25-19 in the boards battle, especially being kicked on the offensive rebounding – a strength for the Raptors – 13-7. The second half wasn’t much of an improvement, continuing to get beat on the boards by the big bodies the Spurs had. San Antonio won the battle 50-40, also beating the Raptors in their strength of offensive rebounding.
Game Ball: Tony Parker
Tony Parker was fantastic, especially at the end of the game. He was able to find seams and holes in the lane, hit the pull-up jumper, and his penetration dissected the Raptors’ tight defense. Being held to poor shooting in the first half by Kyle Lowry (our choice for game ball had the Raptors won), he came out and took over the game in the second half. He finished with 26 points, and 8 assists in 10/19 shooting from the field.
