The Toronto Raptors have won 11 straight games. Despite a late push from the Detroit Pistons and a few sloppy mistakes down the stretch, the Raps took down Detroit by a score of 111-107 and now improve to 31-15.
The Raptors are playing some incredible basketball. They didn’t play perfect, but they simply got it done. That is the sign of an elite team – the ability to just get it done when they need to. The Pistons are quite the solid team as well, making this win even more impressive. If you are a Raptors fan, you should be all smiles right about now.
Let’s get to the report card:
Offense: A-
12 assists isn’t something to be proud of. 46% shooting from the field isn’t either. But, the Raptors still poured in 111 points. DeMar DeRozan continued his superstar play with a pretty efficient 29 points and 4 assists. He has just become unstoppable.
Kyle Lowry struggled in this one, shooting just 4-15. He still finished with 18 points thanks to a 9-12 free throw shooting performance. Cory Joseph was great tonight – scoring 16 points off the bench.
Defense: B-
I don’t know what to really make of the defense tonight. It was not pretty whatsoever – 35 points for the Pistons in the 4th quarter is not acceptable. The Pistons really used a balanced attack, and Brandon Jennings got hot. He’s one of those heat check guys, and he nearly willed the Pistons back.
Rebounding: A
The Raptors won the battle on the boards by a score of 45-39. Bismack Biyombo beasted with 13, Jonas Valanciunas added 9, and Lowry also added 8. There were 13 offensive rebounds logged – those were vital in sparking some energy into the Raps.
Game Ball: DeMar DeRozan
Easy choice, really. 29-4-3 with a very solid shooting performance has DeRozan playing in the same echelon as the best players in the league. It’s really just unbelievable to see the growth of this guy – he’s corrected the fundamental problems with his game. If he can keep taking good shots, this Raptors team will continue to terrorize teams on a nightly basis.
