Game #25: Denver Nuggets 106 (16-7) - Toronto Raptors 103 (20-5)

[A.I]

Jokic is a walking mismatch for most teams. He is tall and bulky enough to back down smaller players on him and he can put the ball on the floor, shoot and pass well enough to get by the slower and bigger Centers.

[DanH]

This was a good loss, as far as losses go. Lots went wrong, were still in it. Good fight late.

Funny that on the night where they finally sorted out the bench unit's biggest issue (lots of Wright on the ball, a good bit of Siakam with the bench), they still had large stretches of FVV dribbling away possessions and that might have been the difference. Hopefully a positive sign of things to come, but frustrating when they were so close to perfect bench execution that FVV still stood out like a sore thumb for stretches and in a game that comes down to the last shot that feels like a missed opportunity.

Jokic is a very tough matchup for the Raps. I really thought they could have tried more of the JV-Serge combo, without the silly decision to have JV check Jokic - put him on Millsap and you can shore up your rebounding without putting a weaker defender on Jokic. They did that when Jokic was up against the bench (JV on Plumlee) but OG can't guard Jokic to save his life, so it was a disaster. Funny to see them try it when it obviously wouldn't work and not try it when it should. Or maybe try Siakam and give him the Jokic assignment. Just a tough matchup...

[DanH]

Being a good team your only losses come from other good teams. Which doesnt inspire confidence for playoffs lol but it is what it is.

We're 10-5 against 500+ teams. MIL is 10-4, PHI is 11-5, basically identical to our record. DEN is 11-4. No one else in the league has a comparable record against .500+ teams.

[MixxAOR]

Being a good team your only losses come from other good teams. Which doesnt inspire confidence for playoffs lol but it is what it is.

[Nilanka]

Vacant? wtf?

Courtesy of Delon's IG, this is a picture of DeMar DeRozan's old locker, which was left vacant until recently and now belongs to "The Boy" aka Drake, apparently. pic.twitter.com/10aPh8VR31

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) December 4, 2018

I'd rather give that locker to Michelle Carter.

[G__Deane]

I actually don't like the matchup with Philly.

We have no one who can handle Embiid (few teams do). Jimmy Butler is our archnemesis. And Simmons is a very good defender and will be a lot to deal with in terms of his size/speed combo.

We are going to need better play from Kyle and a better overall level of intensity and execution.

Like I said, this could easily turn into a mini losing streak or 8 out of 20 losses. Fans go all negative INTRA-GAME when they are losing in an eventual win and want to fire/trade/sit everyone. Wait til they lose 2-3 in a row

[G__Deane]

Vacant? wtf?

Courtesy of Delon's IG, this is a picture of DeMar DeRozan's old locker, which was left vacant until recently and now belongs to "The Boy" aka Drake, apparently. pic.twitter.com/10aPh8VR31

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) December 4, 2018

puke

[golden]

It really is the stupidest thing about the team. I don't mind him having courtside seats and having good access but the locker room is for the team. He's just an unnecessary distraction.

A lot of folks around here don't understand how marketing works. The Raptors association with Drake is worth 10's of millions in free advertising, at least.

[Scraptor]

This Drake nonsense is about the only thing I really dislike about the Raptors. It will be even more embarrassing in a few years when he's no longer popular. Rappers don't tend to go on forever like a Sinatra. Like if the Warriors had embraced MC Hammer 20 years ago.

It really is the stupidest thing about the team. I don't mind him having courtside seats and having good access but the locker room is for the team. He's just an unnecessary distraction.

[Scraptor]

Just finished the game. Couldn't buy a bucket, couldn't make a pass, and probably the worst officiating I've seen all year against a really good team with jokic playing out of his mind..and we lost on the final possession.

We're still really really good and I expect to take the frustration out on philly

I actually don't like the matchup with Philly.

We have no one who can handle Embiid (few teams do). Jimmy Butler is our archnemesis. And Simmons is a very good defender and will be a lot to deal with in terms of his size/speed combo.

We are going to need better play from Kyle and a better overall level of intensity and execution.

[Mitch P]

Mitch, lowry was heaping praise on kawhi post game a few nights ago

Glad to hear it....thanks.

[Truth Teller]

At some point we need to look to get some fire power off the bench. Jeremy Lin comes to mind. Can create offense for himself and good off the PnR. He also shoots 40% from 3. Defense is average.

[Yuri Gagarin]

Mitch, lowry was heaping praise on kawhi post game a few nights ago

[inthepaint]

I have a different perspective than most here I think.

I thought the Raps played pretty well. Denver hit a lot of tough shots. Raptors couldn't hit anything.. yet they still tied it and took the lead before the refs did what the refs did.

Hell, even CJ knocked down a big one.

The Raptors were seriously engaged and wanted that win. I don't think they played too poorly.. they just couldn't buy a bucket which was weird being at home. They were locked in defensively as best as they could in that second half. Denver and specifically Jokic was just a really hard match up.

It sucks to lose.. but I like that they fought hard in it and almost/should have won.

Best loss of the season in my opinion.

The hurt is that we'll probably get swept by the Nuggets now. That second game is going to be a tough one just because of the schedule.

You're right. You know, this year the difference is any time I see them lose like this (like the loss in OT to the celtics and the Pistons one), the feeling I have is it would be extremely difficult for an opponent to pull this off 4 times in a 7 game series. (That said, that's also the feeling I had after the GSW win lol)

[S.R.]

I mean they're going to lose at least once every five or six games, probably not worth bursting your pancreas over it.