Record passing night for the Raptors

“ We are unstoppable when we play like that. » This observation is that of Precious Achiuwa after the big victory of his Raptors against the Pistons (142-113). In “like that”, we mean: defend hard to go in transition (27 points on the counterattack), play in rhythm and rotate the ball as much as possible.

Upon arrival: 44 assists, a new franchise record. The previous record dates back to November 2019 with 40 passes generated in a match against Charlotte.

“ We talked about it at halftime, I think we had 23 assists. When we play the way we did in the first half, it can be something natural to attack the second half by stopping turning the ball, by no longer playing together “, judge Darko Rajakovicwho appreciated the aggressiveness of his players and their interior activity (70 points in the racket).

But this change in dynamic feared by the Raptors coach did not take place. “ I told the guys after the game, let’s not talk about the fact that we only had seven assists in the second half. And they did a good job throughout the match, moving the ball, finding each other… I think we could have had even more opportunities. But overall, 44 assists, we scored shots… It’s positive “.

An ongoing series

His team, which only lost seven balls in the match, is also on a streak of nine consecutive games with at least 25 assists. The second longest series of its kind in the history of the franchise. The Canadiens had played 10 games in a row with this caviar quota in January 2020.

“ Today was one of those games where the ball was under our control. We saw it in the numbers, the number of assists was quite high, and it wasn’t just one person with 20 assists. It was the whole team », Rightly remarks Jakob Poeltl, author of four offerings.

With 9 balls distributed, Scottie Barnes finished first in the class, but the majority of his teammates, inside or back, contributed to the collective effort. “ Everyone shared the ball. Everyone was moving well, which created a lot of easy shots, and we found a lot of ways to break down their defense. I feel like we made the right read for most of the match », continues the Austrian.

Fourth best team in the league in this area, with just under 29 assists per game, the Raptors still maintain a negative record (6 wins – 7 losses).