Thoughts and observations from National Post basketball reporter Eric Koreen after the Toronto Raptors' 87-79 win over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 4 of their first-round series.* So, who wants to try to figure out these Raptors? Anybody? At this stage, it is best to let the Raptors' play speak for itself, because they are defying any reasonable predictions. After blowing a 17-point lead on Sunday night, the Raptors looked absolutely done. Once DeMar DeRozan's tough jumpers - the heart of the team's hot start - stopped falling, the offence fell apart for about 16 minutes of game action. Kyle Lowry could not get to the rim, and the Nets were trapping the ball-handler on the pick-and-roll, blowing things up. DeRozan looked particularly affected by the Nets defence, forced into several awkward positions. The Raptors just kept getting stops, though - at least enough of them. Once Patrick Patterson drilled a difficult 16-footer with 75 seconds left in the third quarter to tie the game 64-64, the Raptors were through the worst of it. Upon seeing Dwane Casey, I told the coach I had given up on trying to figure out his team. 'You should have quit a long time ago,' he replied. At this point, why would anybody bother?
* It is probably time to move past the notion that the referees are obviously favouring the Nets. There were some questionable moments, particularly in the third quarter, but that is just life in the NBA. The Nets were called for three offensive fouls in the final three minutes, including the Loch Ness Monster of calls: the Kevin Garnett illegal screen late in a close playoff game. Prior to Sunday, it was only rumoured to exist. In the third quarter, Amir Johnson got called for a blocking foul on Paul Pierce underneath the basket. In the fourth quarter, on a virtually identical play, Pierce was called for a charge. That is the nature of the league. DeRozan is shooting 12 free throws per game in this series. Any benefit of the doubt the Nets are getting is negligible. In a series this close, of course, one or two calls could swing things.
* Lowry played the final 8:27 with five fouls. Johnson played the final 4:58 with five fouls. Johnson drew a huge charge on Pierce during that span. Lowry made a barrage of plays, including the defining play of the game, a hybrid hook shot/floater over Kevin Garnett, to give the Raptors a six-point lead. Casey said that a year ago, Lowry might not have been able to rein in his game in order to stay in the floor. In Game 3, he was over-aggressive on defence in the same situation, resulting in his sixth foul. Both being available was huge.
* Before the series, Raptors fans lamented that four of the first five games came after two off days. Who would have thought that the Raptors, with so many injuries, would be the team benefitting from the rest? It is both true and a cliché to say that every NBA regular is a little hurt at this time of the year. However, Lowry, Johnson and Patterson all limped through the game, while backup swingmen John Salmons and Landry Fields both need time to mend their backs.
* The Raptors need to find a way to get some easier baskets, and Jonas Valanciunas seems like the best vehicle to that particular destination. With 6:56 left, Valanciunas hit a hook shot over Garnett. A few minutes later, he combined with Greivis Vasquez for a running layup off of the pick-and-roll. If Valanciunas gets proper positioning, there is nobody on the Nets that can keep him from getting a decent look. That positioning is huge, though: He had 11 turnovers through the first two games, and much of that was the result of having to take too many dribbles. Still, finding a way to involve him more often - and earlier in the shot clock - will ease the burden on DeRozan, Lowry and Vasquez.
* Joe Johnson took 17 field-goal attempts in 40 minutes on Friday. He took 10 fewer in two more minutes of action on Sunday. Jason Kidd said Johnson made the proper decisions - the Raptors 'weren't going to let him play,' was how he phrased it. That was the correct strategy, since he was dismantling the Raptors earlier in the series. Credit DeRozan and Salmons for improved initial defence, and the copaching staff for the game plan. Still, the Nets had some good looks, and they missed 16 of their 20 three-point attempts. They have shot poorly for most of the series. You would think that those shots will eventually fall. With only two or three games remaining, that is now far from guaranteed.
* Chuck Hayes? Fine on his own in small doses. Steve Novak? Fine on his own in small doses. The two together, no matter the duration? Poison. Even against the athleticism-starved Nets, those two players cannot make up the Raptors' frontcourt. They just do not provide enough rim protection or rebounding presence. Still, the Raptors survived some strange lineups. They played their butts off defensively.
* With 2:16 remaining in the second quarter, Garnett got deep post position on Patterson. Patterson did not bite on any of Garnett's fakes, and Amir Johnson provided a little extra defensive support. Still, Garnett should have hit the eight-foot hook shot that he botched. With that, my childhood officially died.
* On Friday, Terrence Ross did not play in the game's final 19 minutes. On Sunday, Terrence Ross did not play in the game's final 20 minutes. He continues to have zero impact on this series. I am predicting a big Game 5 for him on Wednesday. Why? See the first point.
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