When the Raptors lost to the Nuggets, they could at least say that they put up a fight. That wasn’t really the case in their 120-98 loss to the Phoenix Suns—a team they had beaten just a few games ago. At one point, they were down 31 points.
The Suns came into the game on a five-game losing streak the Raptors had actually started and on the second night of a back-to-back. They had suffered a 108-105 loss to the Bucks the day before, so they were desperate for a win and played the entire game with urgency and intensity.
The Raptors didn’t match that energy, but the Suns showed them exactly what they need to bring to Utah on their own second night of a back-to-back to put this loss away as quickly as possible.
“The way they responded is the same way we’ve got to be ready to respond tomorrow,” Scottie Barnes said in the postgame press conference. “Come out with a sense of urgency.”
It was a bad loss all around
This loss was a team effort, and there is no one player to blame. Still, some individual performances stand out more than others. Brandon Ingram, for example, played one of his worst games of the season. He finished with 6 points on 3-10 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks, and 5 turnovers. He also had the worst +/- in the game with -29.
After a string of impressive games, against Detroit, Chicago, and Denver, Jakob Poeltl was a non-factor in this game. He only played 17 minutes and finished the game with 2 assists and 2 blocks. Getting absolutely no points and rebounds out of your starting center is not a good look.
Jamal Shead and Sandro Mamukelashvili, two of the Raptors’ three main reserves at the moment, also struggled to make shots. They combined to shoot 3-14 from the field and 0-8 from three.
Every game matters for the standings
The regular season is slowly but surely drawing to a close, but the playoff picture is far from set in stone. The Pistons, Celtics, Knicks, and Cavaliers will be the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference. The bottom half of the playoff standings is a lot more complicated.
The difference between the Raptors in fifth place and the Hornets in tenth is only 2.5 games. Despite the loss, the Raptors were able to hold on to their place in the standings, but their margin for error is incredibly slim. The Raptors only have a 0.5-game lead over the Hawks and 76ers, a one-game lead over the Magic, and a 1.5-game lead over the Heat.
With such a thin lead, the Raptors cannot afford any ugly losses, especially not against teams they are supposed to beat, like the Utah Jazz.