Toronto Raptors Roundup: Surviving without a full roster
Toronto Raptors Roundup is a weekly segment where we fill you in on all the games, highlights and stories from last week. Here’s what you missed from the 11th week of the season.
It feels like the Toronto Raptors haven’t been themselves for nearly a month now. Injuries impact everyone this time of year, but the Raptors have certainly experienced a higher burden than the average NBA team.
Without all of their pieces, Toronto was still in survival mode against weaker Eastern Conference opponents. A three-game stretch of the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and Chicago Bulls is not exactly a murderous row. Yet, with everything around the roster, 2-1 feels appropriate.
What did you miss from this week? We breakdown everything in our Raptor Roundup:
Game Recap
Toronto at Miami
The Miami Heat are a mildly talented team. They have some dudes, but no-one that will blow you away. Yet, year after year, Miami outperforms the talent level on their roster.
How? With good coaching, a combined team awareness that feeds into itself, and playing harder and tougher than other teams on a nightly basis. Miami leverages every one of their small advantages and finds a way to muck up games against better opponents.
Toronto came back late and found a way to win. Miami didn’t make it easy.
Toronto at Orlando
Speaking of ugly games. It doesn’t get much uglier than Toronto’s loss to the hands of the Orlando Magic. The Raptors lead early on, but a horrendous second and third quarter allowed the Magic to pull-away for an easy victory.
A couple of standout statistics from the game:
- Orlando went on a 56-21 run at one point during the second and third quarter.
- Toronto shot under 30-percent from the field
- Former Raptor, Terrence Ross, led all bench players in scoring with 14 points
Chicago at Toronto
This week’s theme of ugly offensive performances continues to the final game against Chicago where Toronto was able to pull-out a victory despite not putting up triple-digit points for only the sixth time this season.
Even with all of the Raptors’ injuries, the Bulls don’t belong on the same floor as Toronto. Many of the Bulls’ key pieces wouldn’t sniff the floor for the Raps. Yet, well into the second half, Chicago had a serious chance of winning this game.
Like the rest of the week, this game was ugly, but Toronto survived.
The week ahead
Utah at Toronto
When you’re struggling to put up points, the Utah Jazz are not exactly the team you want to play next. They’ve been no-where near as dominant as they were last year, but with Rudy Gobert and company, Utah can still defend as well as anyone. If Kyle Lowry isn’t able to play, this might be a rough one.
San Antonio at Toronto
DeMar DeRozan’s return to Canada. The hype surrounding this game should be more interesting than the game itself. Big shock, San Antonio is outperforming expectations once again with a shot-profile from 1995. Somehow, someway, Gregg Popovich finds a way.
Toronto at Milwaukee
The most important matchup in a murderous row of opponents. Milwaukee has surpassed Toronto for the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. If Milwaukee is able to win this contest, they’ll guarantee a head-to-head tie-breaker against Toronto. In many ways, this is the most important game of the season.
Indiana at Toronto
A sneaky contender for top-tier Eastern Conference seeding, Indiana is one of the most consistent teams in the NBA. Toronto one the previous meeting between these two teams, but on the second night of a back-to-back, this will be tough.