Game #70: Toronto Raptors VS Detroit Pistons - 17/03/19 - 4:00PM ET - TSN

[DanH]

Gasol was a team leading +12? Kinda hard to peg the loss on him...

And he was a +17 against the Lakers. That's 2 of the 3 Ibaka suspension games, down, +29 between the two.

The fact that we didn't have a backup C was the issue, along with Nurse casually throwing leads down the drain as usual with his all-bench units, or doing dumb stuff like running Siakam out there with the bench and then running the offence through Lin or FVV...

Nice to see FVV back. Hilarious that he logged 31 minutes as soon as he got back. Hopefully Lowry is all good soon and we can finally see a full rotation.

[Shredder]

I don't think we would loose in a 7 game series against the Pistons. Then again I don't think we would steam roll them either. They are big, like thick big. That's where we are not.

IMO It would be better to not play them and get the Nets instead. Better to get an early first round and rest as the other teams duke it out.

With our lost last night, and the Nets loosing to LAC that destiny just came a little more like reality.

[golden]

No Warriors are not easily scoutable and Bucks are not Warriors.

But they could be the 2014 Spurs where you know what's coming, but they're so well coached that you still can't stop it.

[A.I]

Gasol was a team leading +12? Kinda hard to peg the loss on him...

And he was a +17 against the Lakers. That's 2 of the 3 Ibaka suspension games, down, +29 between the two.

The fact that we didn't have a backup C was the issue, along with Nurse casually throwing leads down the drain as usual with his all-bench units, or doing dumb stuff like running Siakam out there with the bench and then running the offence through Lin or FVV...

Nice to see FVV back. Hilarious that he logged 31 minutes as soon as he got back. Hopefully Lowry is all good soon and we can finally see a full rotation.

Agreed. I thought Gasol played well overall. He had 9 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. He isn’t gonna outrebound a player who has averaged around 15 rebounds a game over the last few seasons.

[A.I]

But they could be the 2014 Spurs where you know what's coming, but they're so well coached that you still can't stop it.

Or they could be the 2015 Hawks. Obviously they have Giannis so I assume it will be different, but until they prove themselves I’ll trust the guy who is a champion and a Finals MVP on our team.

[G__Deane]

Giannis getting 52 in a loss is kinda Harden-like. Embiid got 40 of his own and I can't see how Gasol could hold him back. I can't stand Philly but Embiid is kinda a fun personality if he's on your team tbh

[MixxAOR]

Or they could be the 2015 Hawks. Obviously they have Giannis so I assume it will be different, but until they prove themselves I’ll trust the guy who is a champion and a Finals MVP on our team.

Year prior Spurs lost to Heat in 7 Games (you can argue they should've won but choked) and year after their championship they lost in first round to Clippers. Those 2014 Spurs were amazing though (no argument there) but it's hard to replicate even by Spurs.

[G__Deane]

"This isn’t about me. It is about these players," Casey said. "They’ve played three close games against a great basketball team, and they’ve made the plays to win all of them."

Casey now trying to sound gracious

[golden]

Or they could be the 2015 Hawks. Obviously they have Giannis so I assume it will be different, but until they prove themselves I’ll trust the guy who is a champion and a Finals MVP on our team.

You kind of answered your own question with Giannis. Kawhi "was" a champion and "was" a Finals MVP, but he hasn't brought DPOY level defense to the Raps this year, so we're just hoping he still has that in him. Even so, Kawhi doesn't matchup as well to Giannis like he did with Lebron - he's just too big and athletic. And we don't have Popovich behind the bench (small detail there, lol).

[KeonClark]

"This isn’t about me. It is about these players," Casey said. "They’ve played three close games against a great basketball team, and they’ve made the plays to win all of them."

Casey now trying to sound gracious

What the hell is goin on in here

[golden]

Glass half full. Raps went off for 18 3-pters on 50% shooting. Pistons hit only 8 3-pters on 27% shooting . These days it's normally a blowout when you win the 3-pt battle that decisively. Raptors 3-pt shooting has been trending steadily up since the all-star break (Gasol effect?). That's big.

IMO, the takeaways from this game are: (1) some potential matchup problems (i.e. big/skilled frontcourts & penetrating PGs) that the Raptors have problems with which gives the Pistons other ways to win (turnovers, rebounding, FT shooting), (2) some more Casey fool's good regular season magic, (3) the Raptors not really that focused or interested for long stretches, including Nurse experimenting in games, (4) No Kyle Lowry means more Jeremy Lin.

[GLF]

Glass half full. Raps went off for 18 3-pters on 50% shooting. Pistons hit only 8 3-pters on 27% shooting . These days it's normally a blowout when you win the 3-pt battle that decisively. Raptors 3-pt shooting has been trending steadily up since the all-star break (Gasol effect?). That's big.

IMO, the takeaways from this game are: (1) some potential matchup problems (i.e. big/skilled frontcourts & penetrating PGs) that the Raptors have problems with which gives the Pistons other ways to win (turnovers, rebounding, FT shooting), (2) some more Casey fool's good regular season magic, (3) the Raptors not really that focused or interested for long stretches, including Nurse experimenting in games, (4) No Kyle Lowry means more Jeremy Lin.

where are we ranked from 3 since the all star break?

[A.I]

You kind of answered your own question with Giannis. Kawhi "was" a champion and "was" a Finals MVP, but he hasn't brought DPOY level defense to the Raps this year, so we're just hoping he still has that in him. Even so, Kawhi doesn't matchup as well to Giannis like he did with Lebron - he's just too big and athletic. And we don't have Popovich behind the bench (small detail there, lol).

I know I did. I expect it to be different, but I’ll hold my judgment until they prove that it is.

[A.I]

where are we ranked from 3 since the all star break?

Not sure about the rank, but I assume its pretty high.

Post all star break Raptors are making 14 3s a game, attempting 35.1, thats 39.9%.

Before the break, they were making 11.5 3s a game and attempting 33.3, which was 34.5%.

[DanH]

Not sure about the rank, but I assume its pretty high.

Post all star break Raptors are making 14 3s a game, attempting 35.1, thats 39.9%.

Before the break, they were making 11.5 3s a game and attempting 33.3, which was 34.5%.

https://stats.nba.com/teams/traditio...ost%20All-Star

Ranked 1st in the league in 3PT% since the break. 9th in attempts.