Maybe they should have called off this game. Then, maybe the Raptors could have taken the time to review their defensive schemes again.
Before the tip off, there was some sort of an issue with the wax on the court, and they were contemplating calling off the game due to the slippery conditions. But the game went on.
For a team that plans on focusing on defense, they have already allowed 125+ points for the third time this season. So something's not right with this defense. The Raptors shot almost 60% for the game but still came out on the losing end.
First of all, the Spurs were without Tony Parker and Tim Duncan, so everyone thought it would be a perfect opportunity for the Raps to steal a game on the road. But what happened? Two things. The Raps let the Spurs score 131 points and the Raps got outhustled on the boards.
The Raps continued to get beat off the dribble, as the Spurs were able to blow by their Raps all night for easy baskets. As far as rebounding, Dajuan Blair continued to show he was a steal in this year's draft. Blair was active off of the bench, hustling for offensive boards. Blair put up 6 pts and 7 boards in 18 minutes of play for the Spurs.
The Raptors shot a staggering 65% in the first quarter but the Spurs outscored the Raptor 10-2 with second chance points in the first quarter. And that was the theme for the rest of the game. How bad was the Raptors' defense? Well, the Raptors allowed this to happen:
Matt Bonner was able to blow past the Wright off of the dribble and go in for the dunk. Matt Bonner.
By half, the Raptors maintained their 63% shooting percentage to the Spurs 42% but the game was tied at 63.
The Spurs pulled away late in the fourth as Manu Ginobili had the hot hand with his monster line: 36 points, 4 boards, 8 assists, 6 threes and 4 blocks. Four of Manu's threes came in the fourth quarter which built the Spurs lead to 11 with 2:41 to play. Bosh and Turkoglu hit back to back threes late in the fourth to cut the lead to five but couldn't get it any closer in the closing minutes
Richard Jefferson had came up big for the Spurs with 24 pts, 8 rebounds and 7 assists and George Hill did a solid job filling in for Tony Parker scoring 22 points.
Key Notes:
- Bosh had another solid game: 32 points, 10 rebounds
- Raps were outrebounded by the Spurs 41-29, 16 of the 41 were offensive boards
- Former Raptor, Matt Bonner had 18 pts, 4 threes and a dunk that apparently left Tim Duncan "in saucer-eyed disbelief from the bench "
- Jose Calderon passed the 2000 assist mark, and is currently the Raptors all-time assist leader
- DeRozan Watch: 13 minutes: 2 pts, 1 board, 1 steal, 1 block
Photo credit: (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
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