Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways from much-needed win vs Clippers

The Toronto Raptors earned a much-needed victory against the Los Angeles Clippers, 123-99 on Tuesday night. Here are my three big takeaways.

Tuesday’s contest against the Los Angeles Clippers was far from a “must win.” Any game when you are in first place of the NBA standings is far from a “must win.” But after losing two straight and three-out-of-four, it sure did feel nice to see the Toronto Raptors earn a decisive victory.

The Raptors took control early and never gave it back. The Clippers never had a lead greater than two-points and never led after mid-way through the first quarter. They were down double-digits the entire second half, and in general, the game was a total shellacking.

So what can we learn from such a blow-out victory? Here are my three big takeaways.

1. Return of Kyle Lowry

Kyle Lowry has been absolutely pitiful the past five games. Against L.A., he proved it was nothing more than a small shooting slump.

Lowry scored 21 points on 8-13 shooting, including 4-8 from behind the arc. He continued to keep others involved, shown by his 14 assists. You could tell Lowry was starting to feel himself when he launched a DEEP triple in transition. It didn’t go in, but the more aggressive Kyle Lowry is playing, the better.

2. Still can’t rebound

Even when the Raptors win, they don’t rebound well. Last night Toronto posted a DREB% of 70.8-percent. While that is slightly better than their typical 70.4-percent defensive rebounding rate, it still would place them 24th in the NBA, tied with the Atlanta Hawks (It’s not good to be tied with the Hawks in anything).

Other great teams of the modern NBA have struggled to rebound — the Golden State Warriors ranked 29th in the NBA last season — but life is so much more difficult when you need to defend multiple times in a possession. Posting a rebounding rate that was near league-average would have a major impact on Toronto’s defensive efficiency.

Toronto plays small, but they don’t play that small. Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, and Danny Green are all above-average rebounders for their position. Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam need to make a more concerted effort to hit the glass every position if Toronto wants to improve from their 27th-ranked defensive rebounding rate. 

3. Signs of bench life

The Raptors bench scored 50 total points last night, their highest total in quite some time. Yes, the starters definitely did do the majority of the heavy lifting, but seeing Jonas Valanciunas, OG Anunoby, and Delon Wright all in double-digits was a sight for sore eyes.

Perhaps a few more minutes is all this group needed. After struggling early in the season, each member of the bench has had their minutes yanked around to some extent. Playing poorly can impact your minutes — thus impacting your confidence — thus impacting your play. It’s a vicious cycle.

With some solid time on the floor, OG and Delon were able to find a rhythm for the first time all season. Hopefully, this is a trend rather than a one-game blip.

Make sure to check out our takeaways after every game at RaptorsRapture.com.