Toronto Raptors: Perseverance through injuries in December

Outlier Performances

Throughout the month the Raptors have had some notable performances both positive and negative. One of the games that stick out the most from the month of December was the comeback victory against the Dallas Mavericks. The Raptors had every reason to throw in the white towel and give up in that matchup. They did the complete opposite, digging deep and finding a way to squeeze a win against a tough Maverick team.

The game was close at halftime with Toronto being down only nine points going into the break. In the third quarter, however, the Mavs increased the lead to 30. Heading into the fourth quarter and not having Siakam, Powell, or Gasol, it was looking really bleak for the defending champs. They didn’t give in and managed to outscore Dallas 47-21 in the final quarter. Those 47 points in the fourth were the most in that quarter in team history.

Kyle Lowry caught fire in the fourth scoring 20 and throwing up the game-winning alley-oop to Chris Boucher with 25 seconds left in the game. Boucher also had himself an impressive game with 21 points and four blocks. What was more impressive was the defensive effort they displayed to come back into the game.

Toronto utilized a full-court press to put pressure on the Mavericks and force them into bad situations. Defense is the Raptor’s calling card and they locked down Dallas in the last 14 minutes of the game and managed to get the win. It should be mentioned that the Mavs were without their star in Luka Doncic in that contest. Nevertheless, it was still a historic comeback. Overcoming that 30-point deficit was the largest comeback win in franchise history.

Having a win like that given the circumstances is very positive for the Raptors. Without some of their top talent and down by a bunch going into the fourth, it would’ve been understandable for the team to give up. Nick Nurse and the Raptors didn’t concede defeat but channeled their championship grit and perseverance and mounted the impressive comeback.

A game that stood out for negative reasons was when Kawhi Leonard returned to Toronto. The Raptors displayed an amazing tribute for Leonard and he received his ring from last year’s championship run. Moving on to the game, the Raptors had a lead after the first quarter but allowed the Clippers to get hot in the second. The Los Angeles Clippers outscored the Raptors 37-14 in the second and never looked back. They ended up winning the game 112-92.

In their second matchup against the Clippers, Toronto once again struggled offensively. They shot under 40 percent from the field and under 25 percent from three. L.A. has good perimeter defenders on their squad and that has seemed to bother the Raptors in both of their matchups. The Raptors didn’t seem as sharp as they normally were on defense that night also, which allowed the Clippers to get out to that big lead.

Powell was the only player to shoot over 50 percent that night as Toronto struggled to find their shot. The bench failed to produce also as they were outscored by LA’s bench 44-18. Their awful second quarter on offense is what contributed to them falling behind and against a solid defensive team like the Clippers, it is hard to come back when you put yourself in a hole like that. The Clippers swept the season series with that win and Kawhi got his ring and more importantly the win in his return to Toronto.

December was a test of the Raptors’ resiliency as they had to regain chemistry with Lowry and Ibaka coming back from their injuries, all to lose Siakam, Powell, and Gasol with their respective ailments. Despite all the shuffling and changes in their roster, Toronto has managed to stay afloat and continue to be a team their opponents must fear coming into each contest. No matter who is on the floor the Raptors are coming to play and give maximum effort on the floor.

Toronto is now the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 22-11 record. It should be noted that they aren’t too far off the tails of the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics who are above them by a few games. This month has shown just how tough the Raptors are and when they finally get healthy, they have the potential to make some serious noise and move up the ranks in the East.