Toronto Raptors Roundup: The Raps win two and clinch another playoff berth

The Toronto Raptors went 2-1 this week and clinched their sixth straight playoff appearance. Here’s a closer look at each game and a glance at the week ahead as the Raptors enter the final stretch.

The Toronto Raptors took care of business against the teams they should beat this week. They disposed of the shorthanded New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday and then won against the Miami Heat with relative ease. It was a tough loss against James Harden and the Houston Rockets that prevented Toronto from going perfect on the week.

The Raptors, thanks to a Charlotte Hornets loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, also clinched a playoff spot for the sixth consecutive season. They currently sit second behind the Bucks with plenty of time remaining to close the couple of games that Milwaukee has on Toronto.

Here’s a closer look at how the Raptors fared game to game.

Game Recap

Houston at Toronto

The Raptors got thumped 107-95 by the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night and there was plenty of blame to go around after the ugly loss.

Most of the blame, however, must be pointed squarely at the bench. They were a disaster. Specifically, Jeremy Lin and Patrick McCaw were ineffective and seemed outmatched for most of the game.

James Harden scored 19 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter while Chris Paul, quiet on the scoring front, added 10 assists and pushed a Houston offence out to a first-half double-digit lead.

A big Raptor third-quarter comeback was squashed in the fourth when the subs returned and the Rockets proceeded to shoot the lights out including a couple of big threes from Harden.

Asked about his second unit, Nurse said: “There were just mistakes on defence and that goes under the category of not playing well. Gotta be better, gotta be better.”

Toronto at New Orleans

Bounce back wins are nice, even if they are played against a sub-500 Pelican’s team who are missing their best players.

In their previous match-up, the Pelicans punished the Raptors 126-110 at the Scotiabank Arena, getting picked apart by Anthony Davis (25 points),  Jrue Holiday (29 points) and E’Twaun Moore (30 points). This time around, all three sat. And the Raptors took advantage coming away with the 127-104 victory.

Most notably was the improved production from the bench who scored 47 points in total, getting strong performances from Jeremy Lin who scored 14 points and Serge Ibaka who added 12. As a group, they looked much more aggressive against the Pelicans than they have in previous games against the Rockets and Detroit. They shot 21 for 38 from the field.

Leonard was able to score 31 points on 14 for 20 shooting in only three quarters and was able to sit the final quarter with the Raptors up double digits most of the game.

The Raptors will look to build on the little things they did well in this game as they move forward for the final 16 games of the season, even if it was against a depleted New Orleans line-up.

Toronto at Miami

Miami came into the game on fire, winners of four straight and clicking on all cylinders. However, a match-up against the second place Toronto Raptors put an end to that run.

The Raptors were led by Kyle Lowry, who continues his great play of late, scoring 24 points, adding 10 assists in a heavy 35 minutes of play. It will be interesting to see if he sits against the Cavaliers Monday night due to load management.

Eight Raptors scored in double digits including Patrick McCaw who got the start as Kawhi Leonard sat out. The Raptors, who have been getting inconsistent play from their bench as of late, saw strong performances from Norman Powell (15 points) and OG Anunoby (11 points).

The Raptors also shot the lights out tying a franchise record hitting 21 three-pointers. The Raptors outscored the Heat 63-24 from downtown. The Raptors 125-104 victory was their third win in a row.

The Raptors will play the second game of a back-to-back Monday night against Cleveland.

The Week Ahead

Toronto at Cleveland

The Cavs are hovering around 16 wins on the season and have really struggled against, well, everybody. The return of Kevin Love to the line-up, after an early-season toe injury, has helped somewhat and his pairing with Larry Nance Jr looks promising for the future.

But the Cavs roster has been decimated by other injuries including Matthew Dellavadova and Tristan Thompson who are both doubtful against Toronto. The Raptors have fared well against Cleveland this season, winning all three games, averaging 13 point victories.

Los Angeles at Toronto

The news this week that LeBron James will be put on a minutes restriction for the remainder of the season amounts to the Lakers essentially waving the white flag on their playoff hopes. The Lakers are in freefall with no one quite sure what will happen next in La La Land. Will the Lakers drop to the lottery? Will they be able to land a coveted big name free agent this offseason? Will LeBron be able to overcome the very public perception (true or not) that he tried to orchestrate the trading of several of his younger teammates in exchange for Anthony Davis?

The recent news that Brandon Ingram will be out for the remainder of the season with clotting under his right arm just adds on to the many problems facing the storied team in Los Angeles.

Toronto at Detroit

Things haven’t gone well for the Toronto Raptors against their former coach Dwayne Casey this year. The Raptors have dropped two close contests against the reigning Coach of the Year and should be looking to make things right against a team they very likely may face in the first round of the playoffs. Expect a better effort from the Raptors this week.

Prediction: Raptors beat the Pistons by double digits.