Overreaction: Game 25/82 - Raptors lose to the Zebras

The Raptors had a bad game tonight - Poor perimeter shooting in the first half, and they didn't get their shit together on defence until the bench (OG Anunoby, Delon Wright, Fred VanVleet, CJ Miles, JV) showed them that it's possible. The Raptors had their chances, but the Referees are undefeated all season.

Ok, the referees were bad, but it wasn't the main reason they lost. A lot of reasons, really.

• The Raptors went 3/22 behind the arc in the first half. Interestingly, I was at the Raptors905 game yesterday, and the sauga boys shot 3/19 in the first half, however, they clawed back and were down 2 at the half. The difference? Defence. The Raptors905 played better defence to close the half, and the Raptors didn't.
• Fred VanVleet is really struggling and Delon is starting to look good shooting behind the arc. Delon should shoot 3-4 of these on a nightly basis, and maybe more as I'd rather see him try to make that trifecta than snake around contact with an improbable shot.
• Speaking of Delon, FVV wasn't bringing anything and he gets to stay for crunch time minutes? WTF Nurse?
• Crunch time,  seconds to go, down 1. Why the eff did they elect to shoot back to back three-pointers on a broken play. The first shot, I'd understand, but the second shot? I know Danny Green is money and he's wide open, but the whole damn lane to the basket is pretty much open for a layup.
• I hate to say this, but Kyle Lowry is slowly playing himself out of an All-Star berth. He's the second best player on the team, and he's playing really well as a facilitator, but he can't just have 5 points for the game.
• Edit #1: so I rewatched the game again. Ibaka needs to control his emotions, not only did he take himself out of the game, but he also made errors that were costly.
• Edit #2: uncharacteristic tons of FTs missed
• Edit #3: unforced turnovers and missed bunnies were so frustrating to watch
• Edit #3: gotta give credit to Nurse for utilizing a Siakam postup to get the defence misdirected and getting the ball to Kawhi for a clutch basket.
• Edit #4: FVV doesn't deserve his crunch time 4Q minutes right now.

Game Summary: Raptors 905 vs Grand Rapids Drive 12/02/2018

The Raptors 905 started with their one-two punch two-way players Cris Boucher and Jordan Loyd, recently assigned Malachi Richardson, Deng Adel, and Kyle Collinsworth. Curiously, Kay Felder was inactive today for some undisclosed reason. Maybe he's getting a call-up? Who knows. Regardless, this is a good game to see whether Loyd can handle extended PG minutes.

The first quarter yielded some good return for Loyd as a PG, as he started off with 2 3PM and while he didn't have that many assists to start, it was mainly because his teammates were missing wide open shots. The Grand Rapids Drive showed their aggression from the get-go, taking advantage of the Raptors905's poor defence and lack of fight on the boards. This issue culminated with Boucher picking up his second foul midway through the first quarter.

Interestingly enough, coach Jama Mahlalela chose to leave Boucher in the game. The Raptors905's offensive and defensive struggles were met by the Drive's work inside and outside ended with the first quarter with the Drive up 31-17 and threatening to pull away. It was a tough first quarter for Boucher and Malachi.

The second quarter pretty much continued much of what transpired in the first quarter, with Garner looking locked and loaded from the perimeter and Hamilton an unstoppable force in the paint, while the Raptors905 is bricking everything outside the paint - going 3-19 around the perimeter in the first half. As the Raptors905 starters started to come back into the game, they made a concentrated effort to buckle down on defence, get transition opportunities, and score inside.

The Raptors905 managed to get the lead down to 9, trailing 30-39 midway through the second quarter, but the Drive answered with a back-to-back three-point shot by Bethea Jr and Garner. The Raptors905 clawed back and went on a 15-2 run with Boucher joining the fray to score 9 points to end the half trailing by two, 45-47.

The second half was all Raptors905 show for the rest of the way. The Raptors905 tightened up their defense for the most part, and Boucher continued to take over the game, scoring 15 in the third frame. The Drive's offense sputtered, and they were held to 15 points in this quarter - exactly how much Boucher scored in the quarter as well. The quarter ended with the Raptors905 comfortably ahead, 74-62. Loyd, not to be outperformed, poured in 10 points in the final frame, with the Raptors905 easily trashed the Drive 106-91.

Overreaction: Game 18/82 - That Play Looks Familiar

A win is a win, eh? Tonight was probably the ugliest 2nd half I've ever seen the Raptors play - and still win. A few rants and notes below:

• Kawhi, Kawhi, Kawhi. As much as the Raptors kept missing open looks in the 2nd half, it's actually Kawhi's momentum killing ball pounding iso that got the Magic started. The Raps were up 18 in the first half, the pace and the ball movement was good, and here comes Kawhi and his ISOs that went nowhere.
• I think Kyle Lowry is banged up, but it's starting to look more and more that Lowry's best days as an offensive threat are long gone.
• Fred VanVleet and Delon Wright combined to be a mediocre option as Lowry's backups. Except for a couple of a high-degree of difficulty layups, these two didn't bring much to the table.
• At some point, I was wondering how come Nurse didn't utilize any of their 3 G-League assignees? Malachi Richardson, Jordan Loyd, and Chris Boucher are 3 of the 5 best Raptors perimeter shooter and they did not get a single minute.
• Lorenzo Brown really pulled his sock up and played excellent D the entire time that he was there. I doubt the Raps get the dub if he wasn't there.
• The Raptors' perimeter shooting once again got exposed. The opposing teams have more than enough sample for their scouting, and we'll probably see more and more teams clog up the paint and let the Raptors try to win the game from outside.

Overreaction: Game 17/82 - Nurse and the Art of Building a Player's Confidence

Finally, some breathing room.

After a rough 3 game losing skid, the Raptors 905 got back into the winning column. Yeah, Raptors 905 as the majority of the players that were active today have ties with the 905 club.

Confidence

It's obvious that Nick Nurse is trying to rehab his players' performance by giving them the longer leash and empowering them the more that they struggle. Right now, while the intent is good, Kyle Lowry went down with an apparent ankle injury while the team was up 30 in the 3rd period -- all for getting Lowry to shoot his way back into rhythm.

It worked for Ibaka, Siakam, and JV -- it's starting to work for Delon Wright. It was slowly working for Norman Powell.

Nurse is trying to make it work for CJ Miles, Lorenzo Brown, and Malachi Richardson. It looks like Malachi is starting to get there.

Had this been Nurse, CJ would have been in the doghouse after 5 games. Brown and Richardson won't be seeing rotation minutes unless it's really, really bad.

Looking at how Nurse's handling the Kawhi situation - especially the late game gaffes -- it looks like Nurse is doing the same with Kawhi.

Nurse knows that he needs to elevate his team's individual performance to get as deep as possible in the playoffs. Kawhi by himself won't cut it, regardless of how good he is. Kawhi's going to need an army of solid players to play off and play with.

Tonight was a good sign of progression. We saw Kyle got the leeway to get himself out of the slump. Siakam, Ibaka, and JV are playing better than expected. Malachi and Brown started off shaky but was able to shake off the cobwebs and contribute.

Jordan Loyd and Chris Boucher even got some good burn tonight.

Personally, I like the approach, and a team like the Bulls tonight was a good practice run.

Overreaction: Game 5/82 - Even the "Floor" is high

• Probably the sloppiest the team have ever been defensively and offensively, yet the bare minimum is enough to make the game feel like the Wolves don't pose a threat
• I'm very satisfied with how Nurse is handling the JV/Ibaka utilization. Not just on who's starting, but also how they're utilized on the floor. Ibaka just needs to avoid getting the ball not on scoring position around the perimeter with the clock winding down, as it's a disaster waiting to happen.
• A little bit confused why Siakam did not see a lot of time in the 2nd half, especially in the 4th. OG had a shaky first half offensively but was really great defensively the entire game. Nurse probably went with as many people that can defend Jimmy Butler as possible.
• I've seen all of Lorenzo Brown's games with the 905 last year, and what I can guarantee is that the Brown that we're seeing with the Raps is not the same MVP Brown. It feels like he's trying to play too nice, trying too much to fit into the system, to the point where he loses his offensive identity. Brown is a really good PNR/PNP shoot-first guard, and he can be dangerous from the mid-range onwards. What he's not --- an outside threat -- especially pulling up for 3pt shots off the dribble. He's also not the type of player that would always kick the ball out on a PNR/PNP situation. Lastly, he's not an offensive stopper at his position.
• It's great to see Norman Powell's confidence slowly come back, and I hope he can continue his upward trend.
• Lastly, Kawhi is good, really good. so damn f***** good. damn.

Overreaction: Raps 106, Pacers 99 (CJ Miles Revenge Game)

• We Won This Game When: CJ Miles came alive with his 3pt bombs in the 4th
• Turnover Machine: The starting lineup of DeRozan/Ibaka/Lowry had 8 turnovers in the first half, while the Pacers only had 3. Jakob Poeltl had 3 turnovers of his own in the first half alone.
• Should We Be Concerned: The Raptors' haven't fared well whenever a team brings the physicality to them, and the majority of their losses came from those game plan.
• Is It Worth It: The Pacers came in hungry, physical, and really tough but at the expense of two of their players getting injured (Miles injuring the same ankle twice and Bogdanovic).
• Tim Duncan Bunnies: JV had a million rebounds, but a lot of them were from his own misses, a few times more than once in one possession.
• Hot and Cold: CJ Miles continues his weird starting cold and getting hot at some point.
• Throwback Thursday: As an old school head, I love watching Al Jefferson operate in the post.
• Road To The Six: It looks like Malcolm Miller will become the first Road To the Six convert. Tonight, his defensive prowess was on display.
• Missed Opportunity: Sad to hear Norm Powell coming down with an injury. 
• Difference Maker: Siakam's stats might not look impressive, but his activity in the 2nd half was a huge factor for their turnaround
• Riding the Hot Hand: DeMar DeRozan missed the majority of the 4th period as Casey rode CJ Miles until he got injured with 4:14 left in the game.
• Floor Leader: Kyle Lowry's effort to get every loose ball possible is admirable, but seeing him clean the floor several times while risking injury isn't just something I'd like to see at this point.

Prospect Report: McKinnie and Miller shine while we learn more about Malachi

Last week, the Raptors 905 played 3 games: the team took a loss against (Markham's) Xavier Rathan-Mayes and the Westchester Knicks; cruised past Jeremy Evans and the Erie BayHawks; and punked Wisconsin Herd's green bin collection of Brandon Jennings, Ricky Ledo, Joel Bolomboy, and a random Plumlee.

Over at RaptorsHQ, I wrote about how Alfonzo McKinnie and Malcolm Miller are thriving post-Bruno, and we are getting more and more sample size of what Malachi Richardson can do.

Prospect Report: The Malachi Richardson Experiment Begins (Feb 12-18)

For those who don't know, I contribute at RaptorsHQ, mainly covering the Toronto Raptors' prospects (assignees, and two-way players) while they are playing for the Raptors905 team. I look at how these players perform during the week, provide some insight regarding what's trending up/down regarding their development, and some random things/tidbits that I liked during that stretch.

For example, last week, the Raptors905 played against Maine Red Claws (Boston Celtics affiliate) and the Windy City Bulls (Chicago Bulls affiliate), and I wrote about how Lorenzo Brown went down with an injury, Alfonzo McKinnie stepped up big, Malcolm Miller's got a lid on that basket, and Malachi off to a slow start.

Please check out RaptorsHQ, it's part of the SB Nation, and there are a lot of excellent content (and writers of course) about the Toronto Raptors.