Loss to Wolves a reality check
Raptors now face tough road trip after giving away winnable game to last-place team
Timberwolves 116 Raptors 112 NEXT: TUESDAY AT BUCKS
A couple of steps forward and a giant step back.
It is the story of the season so far for the Raptors, a season of inconsistency and moments where they look like they’ve figured it out, and then moments like Sunday when you wonder if they ever will.
It was but one game in 72, and there really is all kinds of time remaining in the year, but spitting up a home game against an opponent with the worst record in the NBA is not the sign of a good team at all.
There was no urgency, extended periods of mediocre play at best, a lack of juice and consistent commitment as the Raptors dropped a 116-112 decision to the Minnesota Timberwolves that counts as one of the most disheartening games of the season.
The Raptors were as rested as they’ll ever be, after a rare two days off before playing at home. The Timberwolves had lost four in a row and eight of their last 10, were 6-20 overall and 2-12 on the road.
Good teams — and the Raptors fancy themselves a good team, and may ultimately be one — don’t spit up games like that with prolonged stretches of disinterested play.
“(It) sucks. Like, really sucks,” point guard Kyle Lowry said. “We understand that we can’t have those games given away. We’re three games under .500 and we could be six games over .500. It’s that small of a difference.”
Coming off what was considered an above-average 4-2 road trip and having played solidly for about a month, the Raptors lack any sense of urgency or speed against a Timberwolves team that entered the night with the league’s worst record.
They gave away a winnable game in Tampa and are now three games below .500 heading into three road games this week, with two games against each of Milwaukee and Philadelphia in their next five.
Lowry, Fred VanVleet and Norm Powell combined for 70 points, but Pascal Siakam struggled, Chris Boucher had his worst game in more than a week and no one else could provide a spark. á Board gamer: Lowry almost willed the Raptors to a win they didn’t deserve with a tremendous fourth quarter. He had 12 of his 24 points, three assists and two steals while playing the entire 12 minutes. The six-foot guard also climbed into a tie for fourth place on the Raptors’ career rebounding list with four to give him 2,836. Intelligence plays a key role. Chris Bosh (4,776) is first, Jonas Valanciunas (3,961) second and Antonio Davis (2,839) third. Lowry is tied with Amir Johnson. á From down-Towns: Knowing they might have been overmatched at centre, the Raptors threw a consistent doubleteam at Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns in the post to take away his size advantage. It didn’t work particularly well, even though Raptors defenders were able to rotate and recover to get out on shooters on the perimeter. Towns finished 8for-11 from the floor, had 20 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out while the Timberwolves made 16 three-pointers. á Good call: Siakam finished with one three-pointer in three attempts on the night, but it was one that he didn’t take that might have been most impressive. Early in the third quarter, Siakam passed up an OK look at a corner three — you could see him thinking about it — and ended up spinning for a lefty finish at the rim. Early in the season he would have most likely taken that three, but as his game has improved over the last month so has his awareness, and he’s always more effective attacking the rim than hoisting jump shots.