Healthy roster and synergy key to Toronto Raptors’ excellent January
Outlier Performances
The month has given the Toronto Raptors performances that were both positive and negative. Starting on the positive side, Toronto showed its can’t quit attitude early in the month, getting the win in overtime against the Charlotte Hornets 112-110. The Raptors were in control for a good portion of the game, leading by a many as 12 points in the second half. When the fourth quarter came around, they saw that lead disappear and were actually down after a Terry Rozier three-pointer late in the fourth quarter.
The Raptors fought back and managed to get the lead on a Lowry bucket, but Ibaka was called on a lane violation. The Hornets sunk the free throw and the game went into OT. Ibaka redeemed himself for the brain lapse, getting the go-ahead points after he was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound. Ibaka finished the game with 23 points and 11 boards. This is an outlier performance because the Raptors were resilient despite the adversity they faced in the later stages of the contest.
It should be mentioned that Terance Davis got his first start that night as well. He put up a team-high 23 points along with 11 rebounds, and 5 assists. He even got into with Terry Rozier during the game, showing no fear in his first career start. Davis’ performance was just what Toronto needed as they were in the midst of their injury crisis. The Raptors have shown on many occasions that they can get through adversity and that game against the Hornets was just another example of that.
On the negative side, the game against the San Antonio Spurs at home was a sore spot for Toronto in January. With DeMar DeRozan returning to Toronto for the second time, he helped the Spurs erase and 18-point deficit and squeeze out a win against the Raptors 105-104. Now it was the same game that Siakam and Powell returned from their injuries, but still giving up an 18-point lead at home against an inferior Spurs team is no excuse.
The Raptors were up 87-73 after a three-pointer by Matt Thomas with a little over ten minutes left in the final quarter. The Spurs then went on a 17-0 run to take the lead from Toronto thanks to the combo of DeRozan and Aldridge stepping up their play. The Raptors kept it close with clutch threes, but Marco Belinelli got the lead for good for San Antonio with a three-point shot. Pascal Siakam had a chance to tie the game but missed the shot.
The Raptors’ fourth-quarter defensive collapse at home is what makes this an outlier game. It isn’t often when Toronto’s fourth-quarter defence is subpar, but in that game it was. It isn’t often that Toronto squanders a double-digit lead at that point in the game either, but it happened in that game too. Toronto’s offence also went ice cold during the Spurs’ 17-0 run which allowed them to get back in the contest. It was just an avalanche of unusual events for the Raptors and it ended up costing them in that game. Maybe they learned something from that loss because they haven’t lost since.
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The Toronto Raptors finally got healthy and with that, they have gotten their chemistry back as a team. Their sensational January has them at the two-seed in the East, which is much higher than what everyone expected them to be at this point in the season. They have stayed consistently strong on defence and have gotten more depth and offence back since Siakam, Powell, and Gasol (even if it was for a short stretch) returned to the floor.
Toronto has managed to survive the dog days of January, putting together an impressive win streak going into the month of February. With the All-Star break and trade deadline approaching, the Raptors will be sure to get some rest, support Siakam and Lowry, and see if they can get any useful pieces on their roster as they prepare for the stretch run of the NBA season.