Raptors’ loss in Brooklyn stings now, could hurt more later
Toronto can’t afford to lose touch with the teams in the middle of the Eastern Conference.
There’s going to be a muddle in the middle of the NBA’s Eastern Conference standings all season and the Raptors are destined to be in the thick of it.
You can give the top spots to Boston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and, for now at least, Orlando, while relegating Detroit, Washington, Charlotte and, at the moment, Chicago to also-ran status. The remaining teams are going to be in a season-long round-robin series that will ultimately determine any post-season participation.
It’s not too early to consider those games — against Brooklyn, New York, Miami, Indiana, Cleveland and Atlanta — hugely significant in the long-term picture. It’s why Tuesday’s 115-103 loss to the Brooklyn Nets stings now and may hurt even more later on.
A couple of late-game defensive lapses that led to key Brooklyn three-pointers cost the Raptors dearly Tuesday and they simply weren’t good enough offensively to make up for them. It was the second straight road game in which Toronto played well but not well enough to win.
The Raptors, led by 17 points from Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes, shot just 40 per cent from the field and let the Nets dominate the fourth quarter.
Spencer Dinwiddie had 23 points for the Nets and Royce O’Neal made six three-pointers for Brooklyn.
The middle of the East is tight. Seven teams were within two games of each other at the start of play Tuesday. There will be much leapfrogging between now and April, but staying in touch with the group is imperative. The next couple of weeks have to be seen as a key portion of the Raptors’ season.
After facing Phoenix in Toronto on Wednesday, they play the Knicks twice, the Hawks twice and will have two other outings against Eastern Conference foes next week once the league settles the schedule with the eight In-Season Tournament quarterfinalists determined.
