Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways from loss against Blazers, including JV’s absence

The Toronto Raptors faced off against a hungry Portland Trailblazers team, looking to prove themselves as the Western Conference’s elite last night.

The Toronto Raptors are in the midst of a tough four-game Western Conference road trip. While Western conference teams are no pushovers (arguably except for the 5-24 Phoenix Suns, who are leagues behind everyone else), this trip is especially arduous.

Three of the teams in this four-game stretch are ranked in the West’s top four — the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, and the Denver Nuggets. The Raptors have started off this trip with gusto, handling both the Clippers and Warriors in impressive fashion. They play Denver tomorrow in the finale of this road trip.

However, not to jump ahead, the Toronto Raptors came face to face with a hungry Portladnd Trailblazers team, currently holding desperately to the final playoff spot in the West.

With the Western Conference playoff race as tight as it is, compounded with the tremendous expectations placed on this Portland team who seems to be perennially teetering on the tightrope of keeping the team together versus blowing it up, the Blazers definitely felt like they had something to prove.

While the Raptors have shown throughout the season that they can play shorthanded and still find ways to dominate teams — a testament to their depth — they were unable to secure a win without their floor general Kyle Lowry and their interior rim-protector Jonas Valanciunas.

Although the Raptors went on a few runs, the Blazers felt largely in control throughout the game. Dropping what Raptors fans hope to be their only game in this difficult Western Conference road trip, here are my takeaways from the game.