W over Hornets felt like a loss
The Toronto Raptors may have emerged victorious in two of their last three games, but they are still some distance from being a serious team. In Monday night’s game, the Charlotte Hornets, as injury-riddled a team as we’ve seen in years, took the lead almost by default. The Raptors, who have patented poor starts this season, endured a Q1 dismal even by their standards. They scored seven field goals, and as many turnovers. Toronto only managed to get, and stay, ahead of Charlotte in Q4. The Hornets had been defeated by (gulp) 53 points in their previous outing.
Jakob – back to leading the Bench Mob?
We may have witnessed the changing of the guard at center. Precious Achiuwa played more minutes than the starter, Jakob Poeltl. Time and again, Charlotte raced the ball up the court following a Raptors hoop, and scored before our guys were even close to being ready to defend. Jakob is too slow in those circumstances; he was the only starter to not go positive (-12!) on the night. Unfortunately for him, more and more teams want to play fast.
On Wednesday, we’re seeing the opposite of weak, as the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets arrive. Will Jakob (assuming he starts) get embarrassed by Nikola Jokic, the best center player on our planet?
When will good luck expire?
The Raptors have yet to hit the injury bug, but it will strike; it always does. These games against weaker competition, at home, are where our guys should be getting fat and happy. Instead they played a terrible Q4 against Atlanta.
A different look on D, & more
I’m intrigued to see if Coach Darko Rajakovic puts Scottie Barnes or OG Anunoby on The Joker. On Monday, the Nuggets enjoyed ten players hitting the scoresheet (six of them in double figures) against a quality Dallas team, which didn’t have nearly the firepower needed to make a game of it. The NBA is a scorer’s league these days. For example, the Indiana Pacers average 14.9 PPG more than the Raptors, a huge differential.
We were all relieved to see Gary Trent make some shots against Charlotte. He ended with 22 points, a season high, and pulled down 10 defensive rebounds.
Let’s end with a thought from Jack Armstrong: “You are what your record says you are.” The Raptors are minus 1.7 PG so far, a mark better than just four Eastern Conference teams. If anything, their 11-15 record is better than it should be.
- Tags: Toronto Raptors
