Backcourt Struggles Leads to Heartbreak

The All-Star backcourt had one of their typical playoff performances as they struggled down the stretch.

The Jazz made any sort of attack to the basket tough as Delon is stifled by their defense.

The Toronto Raptors faced the Utah Jazz who were on their Eastern Conference road trip. After pulling off a win in Detroit, the visiting Utah Jazz came to take care of business against the 2nd seeded Toronto Raptors. The Raptors unveiled their alternate court design, new city jerseys and had fans hype about the OVO collaboration.

The Raptors played poorly in the first quarter. They allowed the guards to penetrate easily and too many points in the paint for the Utah Jazz. The Jazz scored 20 of their 30 first quarter points in the paint. The Raptors responded well in the 2nd quarter and JV continued his strong play into this game. Jonas usually does well against traditional centers and Rudy Gobert is a great match-up for him. JV dominated the game and finished with a game-high 28 points to go with 14 rebounds. The Jazz were held to 15 points in the 2nd quarter and the Raptors went into halftime with a 48-45 lead.

Jonas was big for the Raptors on the night as he piled up a huge double-double with 28 points and 14 rebounds.

Toronto came out strong in the 2nd half and continued their momentum. The Raptors were up by double digits and looked as if this game was in cruise control. The Raptors All-Star backcourt were not playing well but since the Raptors were winning, it was fine. JV gets called for his fourth foul and had to sit out with 6:53 left in the third. This is where the game shifted and the Utah Jazz began to dominate the paint. Gobert and Favors began to crash the glass and snatched extra possessions.

Rookie phenom Donovan Mitchell who is competing for the Rookie of the Year award hadn’t made any significant plays in the game at this point. But in the second half, he started to gain confidence and scored in a variety of ways. Mitchell scored from the outside, pick and rolls, dunks and created plays for his teammates. To say he played good for a rookie would be an understatement, he played like an All-Star. He scored 15 of the 30 points the Jazz scored in the third. The third quarter ended 75-69 with the Raptors going down six to entering the 4th.

The Bench Mob provided a spark and took the lead with a 9-0 run to open the 4th. As both teams’ starters were subbed on, the game went back and forth. The Raptors had chances to blow open this lead, but the poor performances from the starting backcourt did not allow it. JV was great on the offensive end but struggled to keep up with Donovan Mitchell utilizing the pick and roll. Dwane Casey drew up a play to get JV the ball and JV got fouled but hit both free throws. The Raptors took a 93-89 lead with less than a minute to go. After a pair of free throws from Mitchell, DeRozan misses another shot. With 40 seconds left to go, the Jazz go down the court with the score 93-91. Mitchell drives and draws help from Kyle Lowry and the pass goes to Rubio who hits the wide-open three to take a 95-93 lead. Dwane Casey draws up a play to get DeMar an open look to tie the game and he misses another shot. DeRozan rips in jersey in frustration as the Jazz ice the game at the line. Game over 97-93.

DeRozan attempting one of his game-high 22 field goal attempts on the goal. DeRozan shot 7/22 on the night.

Casey said after the game that he was more worried about how the Raptors started the game compared to how they closed the game. DeRozan and Lowry combined to go 9/36 from the field. This was a typical Raptors playoff performance. To earn respect in the league, our biggest stars need to step up.

Pictures courtesy of: http://www.nba.com/raptors/gallery/rapsjazz-012618