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Toronto Raptors (23-7) 113 - 93 Golden State Warriors (19-10)

First published December 13th 2018
The choice to have Lowry begin on Draymond makes sense in regards that there isn't any need to contest the shots and he's the best at drawing charges in the league but it allows a great chance for Green to distribute from a deeper position. This ended up not being used often since Green would leave early with foul trouble and the Warriors were pushing and looking for very quick possessions. Hindsight makes Dray leaving early the prelude of the events that followed.
Awesome job by Klay early to fight through screens to avoid switches that got guards in a position to attack Looney. You can see how Looney drops a bit trying to get Thompson enough time to track back. This might give Ibaka an open three, but in both of these plays that wasn't the case. But here is an open Ibaka three from Bell dropping to help out contain FVV. Also, to compare with Klay, you can see how Cook's lack of size makes the defense much more vulnerable in a play of this kind.
Speaking of VanVleet, he was tasked with being skin tight to Curry (full court press included) and did a fantastic job, all night. Curry would only shot 12 shots in his 33 minutes. Getting the ball away from Klay and Steph is one of the most impactful things Toronto did.
The second quarter begins and the Lowry-JV PnR is fully unleashed. JV is skilled around the basket and can physically bully any Warrior big not named Green, which can also result in extra chances coming from misses . A big match-up problem and it really sucks that he got hurt. Monroe would do a god job being a replacement.
If i can issue a criticism to someone from the Raptors is Siakam, who i thought was trying too hard to get himself going offensively. A bunch of possessions he just tried to drive and force his way to the basket with no success (no spin move in sight) and resulting in turnovers. He's improving so much but his dribble still isn't at this level.
The final set for the Raptors in the half was a weird one because i have no idea why Curry stayed on Danny, when Klay seems to clearly be aware of the mismatch and wants a switch.
The third quarter comeback never really showed its face because Curry just couldn't buy a shot and Klay was getting run off the three point line. KD was making though shots against sizable players like Siakam and Ibaka trying to carry this team back into it. Great adjustment to get Danny Green creating from posting up on Curry: it draws in help and getting Curry closer to the rim means more space to attack inside.
Execution remains key: In this play, Curry thinks that he and KD are switching but then Durant stays with Ibaka. Easy chance. Warriors follow with consecutive turnovers.
Fourth quarter: Great defense vs Poor offense. Either way, the result is the same. There really wasn't anything relevant beyond this point.
A statement of a game from Toronto, without their best player, playing with purpose against a mostly apathetic team. Warriors missed a bunch of open shots (and the usual repertoire of turnovers in losses) and Curry had maybe his worse game of the year. But that happens a lot on amazing execution on both ends by the Raptors. Their patience over 24 seconds in waiting for the best look is praiseworthy. FVV, Ibaka, Danny... all did their part. Lowry was absolutely fantastic. KD tried his damn best to keep this game alive but not really something that can be done with virtually no help. Did i mention Lowry was fantastic?
Other Notes:
Ibaka's rim protection is back! Oppositely, Draymond's three is absolutely gone for good.
This is another play that makes Kerr prefer every other big over Bell. Still hasn't learn to stay down.
I noticed that Durant now finishes the first while Curry sits those final couple of minutes. This was the other way around before the Curry injury. Curious to what lead to the switch.

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