Andrea Bargnani and Rudy Gay posted 26 points apiece but the Raptors lost their 5th straight game, 125-118 to the Warriors.
Here are some thoughts on the game:
-It was an interesting decision by Dwane Casey to start Jonas Valanciunas and Andrea Bargnani in the frontcourt. In Andrea’s first game as a starter, JV went to the bench. On Monday night, Amir Johnson went to the bench. Bargs and JV are the worst frontcourt pairing (out of the 3 potential combinations) according to advanced metrics and although JV has improved steadily on defence throughout the season, he is not as polished as Amir.
-As we discussed on Monday’s podcast, Bargnani is likely in the starting lineup for three reasons: 1. To inflate his trade value as much as possible before the offseason. 2. Because this offence was designed to have him in the high post. 3. Because the bench needs more ball movement and a quality big man to play defence.
-Andrea responded with his best game (or second best after the Pistons game in which he scored 34) of the season, finishing with 26 points and seven rebounds. He made an effort to contest more shots than usual, his effort on the glass was good (for his standards) and his jump shot was on target (5-7 3PT FG). The only reason this is a positive, is because it will help his trade value. It’s not good news for the development of other players, but expect this Bargnani showcase to continue for the rest of the season.
-Jonas Valanciunas had his shot blocked twice in the first three minutes and only scored three points, but hauled in five rebounds in just 16 minutes. It appears as though his playing time will suffer in order to get Andrea his minutes. The return in any future Bargnani trade will determine whether or not this was a good decision.
-Another byproduct of Andrea being re-inserted into the starting lineup is DeMar DeRozan being pushed back to the third option in the offence. DeMar has been in a tremendous groove ever since the Rudy Gay trade but his rhythm has been thrown off in the last two games.
-It doesn’t matter if Amir Johnson is starting or coming off the bench. His game has reached a level of consistency where there is never any doubt as to what kind of results he will produce. He recorded his team-leading 11th double-double of the season, which included a career-high 12 offensive rebounds on Monday. Oh yeah, and he went 10-of-10 from the field.
-Rudy Gay returned to the lineup after missing Saturday’s game against Milwaukee with back spasms. He managed 26 points but he needed 22 shots to reach that mark. This has been a major criticism of Gay since he arrived in Toronto, as he is not an efficient scorer. One of the major questions heading into this off-season is whether or not Rudy can improve his effective field goal percentage. It’s reasonable to assume that a full off-season with the Raptors and potentially a whole new offence designed around him will help Rudy’s percentages.
-Kyle Lowry will not have many shots in the offence when he is the fourth option. The good news is Lowry always finds ways to contribute even when he isn’t taking shots. Monday night was no exception, as he finished with 11 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and a block. The most impressive part of Kyle’s game on Monday was his ability to limit Stephen Curry. Over the past two weeks, Curry has been shooting the lights out and despite his 26 points tonight, Lowry did an admirable job of shadowing Steph. We talked on today’s pod about how Lowry could stand to lose weight, so the fact that he was able to chase Curry around screens all night was a testament to his speed and fitness, despite his weight.
-Toronto’s defence left a lot to be desired, giving up 62 first half points, 42 fourth quarter points and allowing Golden State to shoot 57 per cent for the game. This was largely a result of the pace that Golden State plays at, but there were some individual culprits too. Bargnani’s lack of help was definitely a factor. John Lucas allowed Steph Curry to get hot. DeMar DeRozan had a hard time following Klay Thompson and Jarrett Jack around screens. This is going to be something to monitor with DeMar going forward. The NBA is going to smaller and smaller lineups which means that at 6’7, DeMar is fairly tall to play the two-guard. Can he stay with the smaller twos around the NBA?
Raptors Player Of the Game: Amir Johnson – 23 Pts (10-10 FG, 3-7 FT), 15 Reb, 2 Blk, 1 TO in 31:47
Warriors Player Of the Game: David Lee – 29 Pts (12-21 FG, 5-5 FT), 11 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 TO in 35:58
The raps were in this game until about six minutes to go in the 4th. they went scoreless for three minutes with some very bad possessions. They were trading baskets with golden state and all of a sudden it seemed that Lowry and Gay decided they needed to start jacking up shots until the end of the game. Surprising they weren’t looking for Andrea with the game he was having. (And I’m pretty anti bargs but you have to feed the hot hand).
I think your recap missed a big point. This was a totally winnable game that the raptors let slip through their fingers due to bad decisions in crunch time and some poor coaching. Casey needed to settle them down and get some good possessions out of them. Too bad because they were right there.
On the other hand there was an entire presentation at this year’s Sloan Sports Conference re: why bad teams in the NBA hang around ’till the end of the game. Many of these Raptors losses are, arguably, not as close as they appear. Stats show that teams with the lead play tight (ex. take fewer 3′s) while the trailing teams play loose (higher risk plays, trying to catch up) all the way until crunch time comes in the 4th quarter. Then, generally speaking, talent wins.
I want to run into BC in the street and punch him in the face.
What happened to all of the people who loved the Rudy Gay trade a month ago?
Awful quiet now…
I think the gay trade was a good trade as long as its followed up with other trades to balance the roster. Unfortunately, BC is incapable of that and/or couldnt do anything else. I think they really got to consider trading demar in the offseason. Gay is basically a rich mans derozan. The two dont make an effective (efficient) wing pairing. Raps need a sg that can start and shoot 3s reasonably well.
I don’t think anyone’s analysis of the Gay trade has changed.
The team is more talented but still has a mid-seed playoff ceiling. There has been tons of roster turnover on this team this season and they’re struggling with it. No big surprises. The biggest concern is still the future – what is the plan for the next few seasons? The Raptors are not on a trajectory to become championship calibre.
I don’t think Demar is the third option, Andrea just (misleadingly as he went 3-11 on 2 pointers) had it going last night.
RAPTORS LOST BECAUSE THEY DID NOT PLAY D….YOU CAN’T RUN AND GUN WITH THE YOUNGSTERS
It’s nice to see a pulse from Bargnani but I’m not sure how much you can put into a game against Golden State. The 7 rebounds stand out even more than his 26 points do and it just shows the amount of disregard the Warrior front court shows towards defense and rebounding.