True to their philosophy this season, the Raptors are banking on their overall size and stature to grab the rebounds and run as fast as possible to the opposing basket.
It disturbs the Suns a lot, who have trouble finding openings in the face of constant pressure of this type. Devin Booker and his comrades stay in touch because Toronto’s game can quickly turn rough, with a lot of ball losses, especially from Fred VanVleet, but as soon as Gary Trent Jr. finds the target, the Canadians are very dangerous. And that’s what happens in the second quarter behind the 3-point line…
Much more present on the rebound (+11), the Raptors therefore lead at halftime (52-56) despite the general awkwardness around Gary Trent Jr. Fred VanVleet thus joins the locker room at 1/7 in shooting including 0/5 from a distance (plus 4 bullet losses) and Pascal Siakam is not doing much better, at 3/10 on the shot including 1/3 at long distance.
Except that Gary Trent Jr. continues his work in the third quarter, and when the VanVleet / Siakam duo finally shoots, it gives the Raptors a 16-point lead (74-90) towards the end of the 3rd quarter.
Devin Booker and Aaron Holiday close the gap before the final round and Monty Williams decides to pair JaVale McGee and Bismack Biyombo to disrupt the Raptors athletes under the circle. And it works ! Toronto has lost all its rhythm and sees Phoenix pick up at high speed, after a 20-6 carried by a huge defense. We say to ourselves that the “momentum” has definitely turned and that the Suns only have to finish the job.
Except that it’s not that simple and the very aggressive double-deals of Toronto’s very long defenders on Devin Booker will weigh down Phoenix in the “money time”. The ball losses are linked and the Raptors take advantage of it, on the counter-attack or on the rebound, to regain some air. Devin Booker continues the desperate misses from afar and Gary Trent Jr. can therefore finish the deal on free throws (117-112) after a crazy end to the game.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Gary Trent Jr, the compass of Toronto. Toronto is an interesting team with its long athletes who can almost all rebound and go up the field in a few strides. But it lacks the shooting to be a truly scary line-up, so it’s often when Gary Trent Jr. has a hot hand that the full potential of Nick Nurse’s troupe is unlocked. That was the case last night in Arizona.
– The energy of the Biyombo/McGee pair. If he contributed, Deandre Ayton however lacked impact under the circle, overwhelmed by the opposing energy. It was the Biyombo/McGee pair that revived the Suns in the fourth quarter, before Monty Williams remained “great” by keeping the Congolese alongside Deandre Ayton, who replaced JaVale McGee. Associations already tested, but never over such a period, and which almost overturned the match for the Suns, yet very badly embarked.
– The two-man takes on Devin Booker. It was in the “money time” that we really felt the absence of Chris Paul. Particularly aggressive on Devin Booker to force him to let go of the ball, the Raptors managed to cause ball losses to go and score easy and valuable baskets on quick play. The Suns had lost their rhythm and found themselves in a hurry in the final moments of the game.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Gary Trent Jr. With his 42 points at 13/21 including 8/11 from 3-pointers, the back released a lot of things for his teammates, especially putting enormous pressure on the Suns defense.
✅ Cameron Payne. We can regret some choices, or annoyances, especially in the “money time”, but Chris Paul’s usual back-up again displayed all his aggressiveness, both in attack and in defense, to help his team stay in the game. . He also finished with the best +/- of his team (+15).
⛔ Fred VanVleet. With his ball losses (5) and his clumsiness (3/11 including 2/8 from afar), the Raptors All-Star suffered, while he is still looking for his rhythm since his return from injury. Fortunately, he is still as nasty in defense, and he hampered Devin Booker in the “money-time”.
⛔ Suns ball losses. The Raptors are a peculiar team, with size and immense arms that disrupt classic passing lines, but Phoenix should have handled the leather better (16 TB), especially in the decisive moments, with losses of the ball largely avoidable and which hurt a lot.
THE FOLLOWING
Phoenix (53-14): the Suns will try to recover with the reception of the Lakers
Toronto (36-30): the “road-trip” continues in Denver for the Raptors
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
