FULL-COURT PRESS
Raptors find their rhythm and drive through Pistons after slow start ... Valanciunas could be called on again late in games ... Detroit would be a good playoff opponent
Eventually the Raptors took care of business in this one but through a half there were some very real concerns.
Up by as many as 12 in the first half, the Raptors appeared to have lost their killer instinct, allowing the Pistons to stay in the game heading into the second half down by just six.
But a 34-point third quarter while holding Detroit to just 22 opened up some breathing space and once again allowed Dwane Casey to keep all his starters under 30 minutes for the night while adding to the win total.
“We knew that they had played last night (losing Sunday afternoon in Charlotte) so we wanted to make sure we used our speed and kept the pace,” Casey said. “That’s something we didn’t do in the first game back from the all-star break and I thought tonight it was a lot better.”
The Raptors got a huge night out of Serge Ibaka on both ends of the floor. Offensively he had 19 points while defensively he pulled down nine boards and frustrated
Blake Griffin all night. Griffin had just 12 points and a single rebound in 33 minutes and spent as much time shoving Rap tor sand jawingat ref sashed id having an actual impact on the game.
The Raptors now head out on the road for two beginning in Orlando on Wednesday and then onto Washington Friday where they will take on the red-hot Wizards in what should be the toughest game of the week for them.
MORE AND MORE OPTIONS
End of game execution remains a hot topic with the Raptors.
Before Monday’s game against the Pistons, Casey revealed the team has at least 20 scripted plays for those situations, although he admitted may of them have not had their debut.
“At least (two dozen) and then options off each of them,” Casey said of the late-game playbook. “Our issue, and I think I said it the other day, it’s hard to duplicate those end of games. We try, we put score disadvantage, time disadvantage on guys, put them in tough situations. It’s even tougher in practice ‘cause guys know what’s coming. It’s hard to replicate the stress level, the angst, the pressure of the moment of the game.
"I don’t know what our number is but our end of game situations haven’t been a lot lately. It’s almost like a few years go we had quite a few and you got used to it.
"That’s something that’s our challenge now, to execute better, to make the plays, make buckets, make open shots at end of games and at the other end, execute defensively, too.”
Last Friday the Raptors successfully ran an end of game play for Jonas Valanciunas. To hear Casey tell it, there’s going to be more of that in the future.
“I think Jonas’s skill set has developed to where there’s a trust level there, that he can do some of those things,” Casey said. “We’ve got some more things that we have, we work on, we haven’t used them that are there involving Jonas and (Jakob Poeltl) and some of those guys.
“Everybody knows Kyle and DeMar are our go-to guys, just like we know other team’s go-to guy,” Casey said. “Kyrie
Irving’s going to have the ball at the end of the game (for Boston). Again, to involve Jonas more, to involve (Poeltl) more, our big guys, and also C.J., he’s a guy we want to involve more at the end of the game. Again, it’s a developmental process for all those guys.”
POTENTIAL PLAYOFF FOES
It was looking more likely heading into the all-star break than now, but the chance remains the Detroit Pistons will be Toronto’s first-round opponent.
Coming into last night’s game the Pistons sat ninth in the conference, 2.5 games out of eighth. With the Raptors in first in the conference, a firstround matchup is still in play.
The Pistons, though, are reeling at the moment trying to incorporate a star into their lineup and doing so with their starting point guard out the past two months with an ankle sprain.
The Pistons have lost five of the past six coming into Toronto and have two more dates with the Raptors over the final 23 games.
Reggie Jackson is expected back in mid-March and while the Pistons as a whole are still figuring out how to be most effective around Griffin, the Raptors believe there is already a nice comfort level between the former Clipper and Andre Drummond.
Miami right now has the eighth spot, two games back of Philly in seventh, but those final two regular season games in Detroit may not be the last the Raps see of the Pistons this season.
QUICK HITS
Griffin played 30 minutes and did not have a single rebound. He finally got his first in the 31st minute on the court off a Jakob Poeltl miss. Ibaka helped hold the former first overall pick to just 10 points in those 31 minutes ... Ibaka, meanwhile, had a pretty solid night at the other end as well, with 19 points in just 24 minutes ... Malcolm Miller saw some of his earliest run of the season in this one, coming in with eight minutes left in the game and the Raptors lead plus-20 ... Casey also found some run for Norm Powell who played just under nine minutes. “We’re going to need Norm,” Casey said. “At some point, we’re going to need him, his skill-set of being able to attack, shoot the ball and what he brings to the table.
He’s just a victim of numbers right now. He’s looked good in practice, he’s been involved in practice, a positive attitude. The other guys are just playing well right now, it’s nothing he’s done wrong.”