Kyle Lowry in his first game back is… 0 for 8 shooting at the half, and so far is losing the game for Toronto. But he’s playing heavy minutes. Maybe, uh, don’t stretch him so much?
An exciting game, but disappointing. The Raptors shot under 30% on 3-pointers and usually do better. They were able to force overtime but collapsed soon thereafter. Credit to Butler and an excellent Heat defence. Lowry got a double-double, but at the expense of guys like Siakam. Still, he needs some minutes in his first game back. Could of gone either way, but TO will bounce back.
The Blazers-Clippers debacle shows just how poorly Portland is being coached. They continue to encourage hero-ball play instead of building a good passing game. In today’s NBA that means they have zero chance of getting past a superficial appearance in the playoffs, if that. Between an outdated offense and an often dismal defense, Stotts will be lucky to keep his job at the end of the season. Why they continue to play this style of ball is a mystery to everyone, it seems, and was commented on by one of the announcers last night.
A remarkably poor shooting night by the Rockets’ two stars, and just a poorly finished and officiated game, period. The officials missed a literal dunk by James Harden, if that gives a clue about how the night went. The game is being protested to the league office by the Rockets for that egregious officiating error, not that it will do any good.
As for bad shooting, Harden went 11-38, Westbrook 7-30. It is the only time in the last 30 years in the NBA, that two players took 30 or more shots each, while both shot under 30 percent in the same game. Harden started out all right—9-24—and just ran out of gas at the end of his 48 minutes played in the 2OT contest. Westbrook just will not stop taking garbage shots. And missing them.
It doesn’t look like they want to change.
538.com, even with the new system, now gives the Raptors a 58-24 prediction, a rating 200 points higher than before, a playoff spot, 17% chance of a final and 7% to repeat.
They also give TR a 60% chance of winning vs. a team with a higher rating.
I wish Portland well, but they will have to work harder to make the playoffs.
POR does okay against other teams that are under .500 or that have extensive injuries, but other than the occasional glimpses of good ball (like last night’s against SAC), they have got to drastically revamp their strategy.
Maybe down a bit after two straight losses at home against good teams, both with alarming defensive deficiencies.
Tonight the Raptors have held James Harden to taking a modest number of shot and buckets, but the rest of the team stepped up, suggesting the Rap’s “Stop-the-Star” approach is one other teams are studying and planning to beat.
Fucking hell. It just never stops this year. Rodney Hood, starting small forward, and by most accounts a really nice guy, was having his best year yet until last night when he tore his Achilles. He’ll be out for the rest of the season, of course, and the Blazers will sink ever deeper into the cellar. Oh yeah, and they got creamed by LA. The number of alley oop plays with AD were so numerous, I couldn’t tell if I was watching a video loop or live TV.
Still the best strategy to beat them. Double Harden’s left, block driving lanes for Russ, guard one or two of the 3pt wing shooters, and force Westbrook to shoot mid and long range shots. WB is about a 20-25 percent shooter of anything outside the lane, but he acts like he’s Reggie Miller or Steph Curry. Ben McLemore isn’t going to shoot 8-17 3s most nights. Neither will House or probably Eric Gordon.
It was the right plan; it just didn’t work out. Good win for the Rockets.
You’re a good guy, RickJay, but far too Canadian in unwarranted pessimism after a couple losses. Truth is, Nurse’s defensive strategy was good. Shutting Harden down was significant. Not like the Raptors played badly against a good team. The Rockets were way-better-than-usual on the 3-points. But the game was won on rebounds. The Rockets earned many second chances. When Toronto shoots a 3-point, they often tend to concentrate on defence rather than send someone up to try to guide the ball or gain possession. This strategy often works and was worth trying. And the way the Raptors covered Harden was different from previous teams.
2 games means nothing. Toronto will rise!
Also worth commenting on how easily the Bucks seemed to beat the Clippers. Toronto could take the Rockets in a 7 game series, possibly. And they played well in a 105-115 loss way back when. But they’d be tough to beat again.
POR managed to trounce the Knicks, but I’m pretty sure that PS-12 could have done that. Of the nine games left in this calendar year, POR would have to win 7 to get to .500. Any bets? They’ve called up Hoard from the G league to fill in the roster. They’re running out of room behind the bench for the injured, halt and lame. Denver (14-8) tonight, typically a tough match for the Blazers. Carmelo continues to play decently, and Whiteside continues to score double-doubles and block shots. Maybe they’ll come together at some point and develop a decent passing game.
The Raptors have struggled their last few outings, starting slow, sometimes gaining momentum. No need for concern, but they need to get their 3-points back up, or be more aggressive in the paint. Turning over the ball less would help. But there have only been a few games where they weren’t competitive. And they have to move on from Kawai. He did a long time ago.
The Raptors played much better last night against a decent Brooklyn team. Siakam played a good game. But still the slow start and Gasol coming through to keep them in the game. The duo of Gasol and Ibaka has wings.
Some good news for POR: Nurkic has been working out, running steps, and scrimmaging . Observers say his movement is smooth and he is pain-free. He’s not ready to return to the lineup yet, but he should be ready when Whiteside jumps ship for a more lucrative contract elsewhere.
Hoping Spurs can still make playoffs. They need just one more to set all-time NBA record for consecutive playoff appearances.
Milwaukee is looking amazing, but credit where it’s due to Dallas, who beat them in Milwaukee last night despite Giannis dropping 48.
That would be 23 years in a row, in case anyone wondered; they’re tied with the Sixers (who were originally the Syracuse Nationals.)
The record in any major North American sport is 29, held by the Bruins. Tops in the NFL is just 11, a streak the Patriots are on right now and presumably will extend to 12. I’m surprised some other dynasty didn’t go longer, but that’s it. The MLB record is 14, by the Braves.
18 wins in a row is nothing to sneeze at.
Brian
After a really crappy first half, the Blazers woke up and handed Phoenix another loss (one point) after trailing by 20 points. It went down to the wire. They were actually playing good defense in the second half, a rarity for this team. On Wednesday, they have a chance to make up for the embarrassing loss to GS early on. Don’t fuck it up again!
I was never a fan of basketball. It always seemed to me that games were essentially decided by the first quarter, or that just the last five minutes mattered. Seeing a few games didn’t change my opinion. But then the Raptors made the playoffs last year and continued to surprise.
But this year there are so many good teams that it has been a pleasure to watch many teams I previously had no interest in. But I still hold my old opinion. I tried to Google how many games were “close”, and the NBA defines this as a game within 5 points with 2 minutes left (or a game that goes into overtime). I couldn’t find out what percentage of games over time were close with a quick Google. (I did find records for teams from this year in close games, so could work it out for this season with a lot of math I don’t want to do). Anyone know?