Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways from loss to Denver Nuggets

The Toronto Raptors heaved up bricks all night, yet still managed to pull into a tie with the Denver Nuggets. As with Detroit, the Raptors floundered with seconds left and dropped a 106-103 decision.

The Toronto Raptors endured one of those nights against the Denver Nuggets. Perhaps they might have gotten away with such a poor performance against a cellar-dweller, but the Nuggets are anything but. The visitors slipped away with a late victory.

What jumped off the page, so to speak, in this one?

Second-chance points are killers

We may need to strike a search party to uncover the remains of the Raptors’ defensive rebounding. Denver outscored Toronto 23-2 in second-chance points, which looks like a typo unless you saw the game. The Nuggets pulled down 15 offensive boards, to the Raptors’ 7. Seven of the nine Nuggets who played grabbed at least one O-board. Where’s the boxing out?

Let’s consider the “2” for a moment. The Nuggets had Mason Plumlee and Nikola Jokic on the floor together for 6 minutes, during which time they pulled down 6 defensive rebounds and were plus_10. While it’s a tiny sample size, there’s at least a hint that 2 big men on the floor at the same time can have an impact. Given how poorly the Raptors shot from deep (Kyle Lowry, Kawhi Leonard and Fred VanVleet were a combined 2 for 18), the Nuggets had a lot of rebounding opportunities, and they took advantage. They outscored our team 12-6 on the fast break.

Serge Ibaka, stop with the silly fouls

I’ve complained about Serge’s hare-brained fouls before, but it’s really getting outrageous now. He fouled Jokic on their inbounds play before the ball was moved, which meant a free throw with 7 seconds remaining. Can’t they earn their winning points, instead of having them donated? And for those of you who thought the call was dubious: even if I lean towards agreement, it’s moot. The zebras are watching Serge. He’s got a reputation.

Maybe Lowry should have sat

Kyle was marked as “out” in the morning notices, but there he was, large as life, when the ball went up at 7:40PM. Was that a sound decision? He’s clearly still banged up.

I’m with Gregg Popovich on this matter. Give a guy like Kyle, who puts his body on the line about a dozen times a game, additional rest. I hope he’s pain-free for Philadelphia’s visit on Wednesday.

Conclusions

This game offered further proof, not that any was needed, of how difficult it is to play well all the time.

The Raptors need to figure out how to win close games, because what’s happened recently is most aggravating.