Game #32 Philadelphia 76ers vs Toronto Raptors Tuesday February 23, 7:30 p.m. ET

[S.R.]

Rough game in patches but by the end of it the Raptors 'won' in nearly every area except FT's and 3PM. That disparity made the difference. Pretty important categories, though.

But these days you have a game like that - Raps 30% 3PT and Sixers 45% 3PT and with nearly 40 attempts each, that's pretty much game right there. Really hard to erase that difference if you're the 30% team, that's the modern NBA.

[saints91]

I think the foul calls have a lot to do with our aggression, there were a ton more that we could’ve been called on last night. We are a top defensive team because we are physical, that will lead to that disparity. There is some All star bias in the league, and they could have called more on Phili. Defence kept us in the game, and I don’t think the foul call disparity lost us the game. It was all the 1st quarter.

[G__Deane]

Another game where the free throw disparity is huge. How many games in the last 20 have we been awarded more f/t than the other team?

Aside from the so obvious non-calls like Simmons on Norm, how much of it is bad reffing/star bias and how much of it is the Raptors not being aggressive enough in the paint and seeking or being willing to take contact? This is not a new trend and it sucks.

[planetmars]

Bad first quarter. Philly hit everything and Raptors struggled to put up points. Winnable game.. every time the Raptors brought it down to a 6-7 point game, Doc would call a timeout and go on a run. Missed some really clean open 3's. Fred and OG were inefficient. Pascal and Norm weren't.

Tough to make up the 3pt and FT discrepancies.. almost did though. Not sure why we tried so hard down 11 with 2 mins left. We have a game tonight against another tough defensive team. I think tonight's game will give me Minny vibes from a few days back.

You know Spo will be doing a lot of zone.. and I could see us bricking a lot of shots again.

The no foul call on Simmons after winning the jump ball between Joel/Fred was so deflating. But it was so early in the game that it became inconsequential.. just sucky when you are down free throws and are working hard on defense to make it a game, that the refs bone you over.

Still showed we can beat Philly in a best of 7. Won't be easy or pretty but is doable. Boston is the only team that strangely has our number. Nets are going to be disgustingly hard, but we have a chance in the East. Just need to stay in the playoff hunt which is going to be a grind.

[saints91]

Great game! Damn that first quarter did them in.... but they were there. It’s evident that the Raps could be in the top 3 in the east if Masai got them some help at the 5. (Yes, I didn’t think they had the talent to be this competitive earlier in the season)

masai has to reward 5heseguys for their effort and add some more talent to this roster. Even another big 4 that can play a bit of the 5. I would really like them to go after Bagley, I think he is being wasted in Sac.

[grindhouse]

I would take cousins for a few mil. He doesn’t have to score he can pass like gasol and he can rebound. Rather him over Drummond

[inthepaint]

Every few games we get burned by corner 3's. Like the sun always rising and setting. And it's always guys like Shake Milton, Payton Prticher, Semi Ojeleye, Kevin Huerter or Ricky Rubio. It's interesting that we almost never get really burned by the Embiids, Tatums, Giannises or Hardens of the world. It's always the freakin' Furkan Korkmazes. From the corner.

Guess that's the risk of game plans heavily focused on neutralizing the stars. Works most of the time for us, but the price is games like these sometimes. These 2 games vs Philly showed they're totally beatable in the playoffs though.

[Dvdvideo]

There were 2 or 3 bad calls that could have easy turned this game. Too bad.....

[Demographic Shift]

My run has ended, unfortunately

To .500.. Great run

[DanH]

Good fight. Little too little, little too late. Hard to overcome that sort of shooting discrepancy. On to the next.

[G__Deane]

My run has ended, unfortunately

Good effort, take a day off and be back tomorrow night

[G__Deane]

Neither of those guys makes the Raps better. Cousins is playing on one leg and Drummond can’t shoot or defend in space.

There isn’t a quick fix mid season solution for Toronto’s issues.

I get they each have drawbacks but one of our problems is being out regularly rebounded badly. We've all debated this on other threads but you can't say Drummond doesn't address that. He's an easy 20 and 10 guy here while who's to say Nurse can't coax a little better D out of him?

Clippers and Mavs are both rumored landing spots for him, I guess we're a better team than they are.

[The Claw Reborn]

Neither of those guys makes the Raps better. Cousins is playing on one leg and Drummond can’t shoot or defend in space.

There isn’t a quick fix mid season solution for Toronto’s issues.

Cousins though is freebie with no need to give up assets but to fill a spot vacated by Len. Third Center who can play a very specific role. He may not necessarily be a quick fix but it’s a start. Drummond is a flat out...NO

[nba_4_life]

My run has ended, unfortunately

[slaw]

Yet nobody wants Drummond or Cousins for free or.... anyone it seems. Lots of fans saying they'll be happy to be competitive and bow out in the 2nd round again.

Neither of those guys makes the Raps better. Cousins is playing on one leg and Drummond can’t shoot or defend in space.

There isn’t a quick fix mid season solution for Toronto’s issues.