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A trend? Win 2, Lose 2...Raptors searching for consistency
Written by Sean Francois   
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 00:29

The Raptors have now fallen to one game below .500 on the season (5-6) with a 130-112 road loss to the Denver Nuggets. The game was tied 64-64 at halftime, but the Raptors came out of the locker room and continued to display a lackluster effort on defense and were outscored 66-48 the rest of the way.

As I was looking at the Raptors games thus far, I noticed an potentially alarming trend. After winning the ACC home opener vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Toronto Raptors only appear to be showing up 2 games at a time. Let's take a look at their past 10 games:

Lost 2 (@ Memphis, vs. Orlando)
Won 2 (vs. Detroit, @ New Orleans)
Lost 2 (@ Dallas, @ San Antonio)
Won 2 (vs. Chicago, @ Los Angeles Clippers)
Lost 2 (@ Phoenix, @ Denver)

Albeit the loss to Phoenix was by 1 point, the other 5 losses were convincing wins by the opposition. I know sometimes trends are just that and not much can be gleaned from them, but the Raptors are now 2-5 on the road for the season, yet 3-1 at home. In the 5 losses to teams not named the Phoenix Suns, the Raptors lacked the defensive effort they exemplified against Cleveland, Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago (2nd half), and the LA Clippers (2nd half).

We are 1/8 of the way into the NBA season, with the Raptors having 11 games now under their belt. Their defense continues to be suspect and it will be an absolute necessity in order for the Raptors to achieve their goal of participating in the NBA Playoffs this season.

The Raps need 48 minutes of defensive effort from all 12 players, whether at home or on the road. The Raptors have no problem scoring baskets (they have scored 99-plus points in all 11 games) - they must stop their opposition from doing it so frequently. The Raptors have given up 115-plus points in five of their six losses, and 124-plus in four of those six.

I know Coach Triano preaches this in every practice & every game - the Raptors must find it within themselves as players to bring a committed defensive effort on a nightly basis...otherwise the trend we've just discussed will continue.

Here are 6 minute video recaps of the Raptors last 4 games - 2 losses, preceeded by 2 wins:




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Comments (2)Add Comment
Recent Raptors losses
written by Marisa Torre, November 18, 2009
Raps losses haven't been so severe to cause concern. As much as a loss on the books is still a loss; tough games with marginal losses early on against strong teams are easier to recover from in the long-run course of the season than a false sense of security against weaker teams which will break us down later on. Triano is known for his strong mental as well as game stategies. I think we need to just ♫"let the gentleman do his thing"♫ Second string players need game time now to be strong later in the season for the really BIG deciding games. As long as the team has the heart to commit their best game to the floor, without unrelated distractions Bosh, we'll be fine.
3 losses in a row now...time to start a better trend!
written by San Fran, November 20, 2009
Marisa, Thanks very much for the comments. Up next, 3 games in a row at home - time to take advantage and get back above .500!

Well, I guess my trending is shot now...time for a new one! Go Raptors!

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