Los Angeles Clippers vs. Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors made a valiant effort against the LA Clippers on the second night of the hardest back-to-back in basketball this season. But for all the effort and heart that they showed they came up a little short.
This is the kind of game that when you look at a team schedule before the season even starts, it’s not a loss that you’re going to be upset about. Coming into this game the Raptors were already without Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, and Patrick McCaw. They played an unbelievable game the night before against the Los Angeles Lakers so it was assumed going in that fatigue was going to be a factor.
In any case, the main focus of the Raptors’ strategy to win this game was simple. Shut down Kawhi Leonard. The man tapped for the job? OG Anunoby, future All-Defensive Team selection. But the Raptors’ strategy would be thwarted not even two minutes into the game. OG took a jab in the face from Kawhi’s legendarily large hand. According to Nick Nurse in the postgame interview, both of OG’s contacts were knocked out and he was left him bleeding.
Can someone explain to me how that is not a foul?
Which brings me to another issue in this game. This is the worst officiated game I’ve seen all season. And I’m not even saying that just on the Raptors side. There were definitely calls missed on both ends of the floor. The whistle was uneven at best and egregious at worst.
I mean, come on. How does one team have 44 points in the paint and shoot only 15 free throws while another scores 46 paint points and has 30? I don’t care what the matchup is. That kind of disparity is a problem.
Even with the loss of OG, the Raptors didn’t change their strategy. It just required several guys guarding Kawhi instead of a primary defender who would get some help throughout the game. And the adjustment worked beautifully. The Raptors were able to hold Leonard to a season-low 12 points and forced him to make a career-high nine turnovers.
This game was within four points up until the 1:00 mark of the fourth quarter. You could see the Raptors losing steam all quarter long and the schedule and lack of personnel ended up being just too much. Pascal Siakam missed 3 of 4 free throws in that fourth quarter and as a team, the Raptors went 4-24 from the field.
December 11th, when Kawhi makes his return to Toronto is just around the corner. It will be a special night where Toronto will get to once again, thank Kawhi for his role in bringing a championship to the city and country as he receives his championship ring. But expect the Raptors to be very focused on splitting the season series.