Raptors Outlast The Hornets

The Raptors come into this game riding a 3-game winning streak and the Hornets are coming into this game after getting blown out in two straight games. The Hornets are in need of a win to get off this terrible slide and will be looking to take their frustration out against the Raptors. Toronto have won 10 of their last 11 games and have been playing well.

The Raptors still have the best home record at 25-5 and will look to defend it against the Charlotte Hornets.

The surprise of the day was Malcolm Miller starting for the injured OG Anunoby over the struggling Norman Powell. Malcolm does bring a similar length and shooting ability to OG, but not as good as a defender or cutter. JV started this game with a classic pump-fake at the three-point line which made Dwight jump out of his boots as JV drove past him for a Lithuanian Lightning dunk. Toronto were scoring easily in the first quarter with a majority of their points coming in the paint. Charlotte’s defense was non-existent to begin the game, but their offense kept them in the game. Charlotte are ranked 7th in the NBA in 3-point accuracy and they showed the Raptors why. The Raptors allowed the Hornets back into the game by taking more perimeter shots in the second half of the first quarter and were not hitting their shots. The first quarter ended 26-21 for the Raptors.

The second quarter was similar to the first quarter. The Raptors relied on their perimeter shooting and were straying away from going inside the paint. The Hornets game plan was to let the Raptors score anything from the outside, but nothing inside. The bench was getting great open looks from the outside, but nothing was falling. Norman Powell was given playing time in the second quarter as per Dwane Casey’s usual substitution pattern, but he struggled in the few minutes he played. The Raptors passed the ball well in the first half with 15 assists on 20 made field goals. However, the Raptors did shoot 6/22 from outside and continue to plummet in 3-point accuracy. The halftime score was 52-43 with the Raptors holding onto the lead.

The Raptors shot 6/22 from the outside in the first half as the Raptors continue to struggle.

Toronto came out with the assumption that the Hornets will allow the Raptors to blowout the game, but it was the exact opposite. Charlotte jumped off to a quick 11-0 run early in the second half and cut the score to 58-56. Malcolm Miller was not effective in the minutes he played in place of OG. OG’s ability to leap and rebound the ball is something that isn’t noticed until someone else has to take his place. Both Serge and Jonas were the Raptors best perimeter shooters and the most efficient players on this night. The teams were trading punches back and forth but the Raptors came out of the third quarter leading 82-69. The Raptors have won all three quarters going into the fourth, but the game did not give off a vibe that they were in complete control of this game.

The Bench Mob started the fourth quarter and were playing well to start. However, the bench’s offense started to slow down and the defense was trying to hold onto the lead somehow. The Charlotte bench climbed back in this game and dominated the Raptors bench. Dwane Casey had to resort back to his starters who have been clearly better than the bench by a large margin tonight. The starters were sloppy on the offensive end in the fourth and helped the Hornets get back into the game. The ball movement was missing in the fourth quarter and the shot selection was poor to say the least. Lowry and DeRozan managed to hit a few tough shots to keep the Raptors afloat and hold onto a small lead. The turnovers were killing Dwane Casey and the Raptors as some of them were unforced.

Bench Mob struggled to score and were outscored by the Charlotte Hornets bench, 41-35.

Steve Clifford elected to go with the hot hand similar to what Casey usually does. The Hornets were playing Kemba, Lamb, Batum, Kaminsky, and Zeller on the floor who were playing confidence and energy. Kemba started to get it going with a couple minutes to go and gave his team a chance to close the gap by hitting tough contested shots in crunch time. The score was 99-95 with 44.5 seconds left after a big three from Kemba Walker. Raptors started to miss free throws as well as the Hornets cut the lead to an one possession game with 6.3 seconds to go, 101-98. Kyle Lowry managed to ice the game with a couple free throws as the Raptors narrowly come out of this one with a win.

Toronto Raptors Charlotte Hornets

103 98

Player of the Game

Serge Ibaka

30 minutes, 17 points, 8 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 0 turnovers, 6/9 shooting, 2/3 FT, 3/5 3PT

Serge played well in this game, but other players on the team put up better stats. Serge’s impact on the game and his efficiency is the reason why he is the player of the game. He was one of the better shooters on the night and his defense was great in this game. Serge had a number of highlight plays specifically on the defensive end. The other Raptors need to step up and learn to hit perimeter shots or else Ibaka might have to stay on the outside to stretch out the floor which isn’t the best idea in terms of offensive rebounding.

Things To Take Away From This Game

1. Crunch Time

• The Raptors continue to struggle in crunch time and Casey will have to work on it throughout the rest of the season. They played sloppy, turned the ball over and took bad shots. The Raptors will not be able to beat an elite playoff team with this play. The game slows down and the Raptors look out-of-sync in the last few minutes with no idea of what they should do next. Hopefully, the Raptors learn to improve on these situations because they won’t be able to blow out every single team in the league especially during playoffs.

2. Ball Movement

• Toronto ended up with 22 assists on the game which does not seem so bad, but they had 15 assists in the first half so only 7 assists in the second half. The ball movement from the Raptors starts to slow down and disappear when the game becomes tight in the second half which is a problem. Isolation basketball won’t be able to save you on a regular basis as the Raptors need to learn how to move without the ball and create using their passing which gives them the lead in the first half. The low number of assists was also a result of a lot of missed shots by both the bench and the perimeter players. The only ones who hit their threes consistently were JV and Ibaka which is shocking since they are your tallest players who are usually near the rim.

Serge led the team with 3 made threes on the night. He was one of the only bright spots in terms of outside shooting.

3. SF

• This position is an open spot where anyone can be inserted at this point. The Raptors do not have a definitive player to fill this role ever since OG got injured. Malcolm Miller struggled and Norman Powell’s game has disappeared. VanVleet provided a few good plays here and there, but his four turnovers were terrible decisions that helped Charlotte get back in the game. OG’s solid defense, rebounding and the lack of needing to feed him the basketball is quite useful and is a reason the Raptors have thrived this season. Hopefully OG can come back and fill in the big hole he has left behind.

Pictures courtesy of:

http://www.nba.com/raptors/gallery/rapshornets-030418