Raptors VS Pacers (Game 3)

Raptors Lead Series 2-1

The Raptors have home court advantage once again! They took it back in Indiana where they beat the Pacers by 16 points. Let's take a look at how this game played out.

DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry didn't have the best games, but it was sure better than how they were in the first 2 games of the series. Both of them combined shot 37.5% from the field. While there play wasn't the best, it was crucial for the Raptors win. However, someone that stepped up was DeMarre Carroll. He had 17 points in the game and played great defensively on Paul George. PG-13 shot just 6-19 and that was mainly because of DeMarre Carroll. This really hurt the Pacers which ultimately lead to their demise in the game.

The Pacers didn't do well in responding to George having a bad night. Monta Ellis had just 7 points. If George is having an off night, Ellis needs to produce for the Pacers to even have a shot at winning. And with the team shooting 38.2% from the field, that is where you tell Monta Ellis and Rodney Stuckey to just go out there and score and that is where Frank Vogel messed up. Sometimes, you need guys to go into isolation or pick and roll and just tell them to score. The Pacers never really did that and scoring guard, Rodney Stuckey only played 16:55 minutes in the game and only put up 2 shots.

Toronto's bench played very well and just had an all out duel with Indiana's bench. Both bench provided a great lift in the game for both teams so it was nice to see the benches duel it out. It was great to see competition from the bench and I was really hoping it would carry over to the starters but it never did. It was a good game to watch, but the Pacers just didn't get enough offense at all and if they are going to win game 4, they need offense from their star players.

Kings VS Raptors: Toronto Needs Valanciunas Back

The Kings and the Raptors went head to head on December 20th. The Kings came out of Toronto with the win and it is clear that the Raptors are struggling. Why are they struggling though? The main reason is because both Valanciunas and Carroll are out of the starting line-up due to injuries. Let's jump into the game.

The Kings Dominated On Offense
This Sacramento Kings team couldn't miss the other night. Maybe this had something to do with Carroll out, but the Kings still shot 52.6% from the field as well as shooting 42.9% from 3-point range. Of course, this isn't that surprising since the Kings are 5th in field goal percentage and also 5th in 3-point percentage. It also isn't surprising that the Raptors only shot 37.2% from the field and 27.6% from the 3-point line knowing that they are 21st in field goal percentage and 17th in 3-point percentage.

Kyle Lowry Had a Short Night
Lowry really struggled in this game, and he never got to go on a hot streak considering the fact that he was ejected in the 4th quarter. When he argued with a call, the ref gave him a tech. Lowry continued to argue and was thrown out of the game with another tech. The Raptors were only down by 7 at that point.

Bismack Is No Jonas
While Biyombo had 13 rebounds in the game, rebounding is about the only thing that he did. He shot 0-7 from the field and had 2 points off of free throws. He didn't have an assist or a steal. He only had 1 block defensively. They need Jonas. Bismack just doesn't have the offensive caliber that Jonas has on the floor. The Kings had 52 points in the paint and Jonas would have cut that down. Biyombo can rebound and that is about it.

The Kings Of Tempo
There were tons of fast break points for this Kings team and the Raptors couldn't stop it. The thing is, when you have DeMarcus Cousins getting 5 fastbreak points in a game, then your guy are not getting back. Everybody on the Kings were getting out and running in transition and the Raptor were not getting back.

Rajon Rondo Is a Beast
He was the reason why they won this game. He had 19 points along with 13 assists. This kid had 12 points in the paint. 12. He was getting to the rim and finishing on Lowry. He was getting his teammates involved and getting high percentage shots in the paint and Lowry couldn't guard him. Rondo is showing that he deserves to be a starting point guard. Without him, I don't think that the Kings win this game.

Other Points

• DeMar DeRozan lead the way for the Raptors with 28 points. He also added 7 rebounds.
• All 5 of the Kings starters had over 10 points. The team really moved the ball well as they had 26 assists.
• Omri Caspi had a double-double, 15 point and 11 rebounds. He has proved to be a great asset for the team. Expect him to keep up his production.
• The Raptors were short-handed and only played 3 guys off the bench, even after Lowry was ejected. Hopefully they can get Carroll and Jonas back soon, because they don't have much of a bench without them.

As you can see, the Raptors are suffering in some areas without Carroll and Jonas. Hopefully they can get them back soon. Hope you guys liked the post. See you next time on NBA Inside The Play Nation. 

Hawks VS Cavaliers (game 1)

Final Score: Cavs win 97-89



Cavaliers lead series 1-0

This was a really weird game. The Hawks build up a lead. Then the Cavs catch up. J.R. Smith knocks down a bunch of shots. The Hawks fall way behind. DaMarre Carroll gets injured. Then the Hawks fall behind a lot but catch up a little. The Cavs ended up winning in the end. Really odd game and a lot happened. Let's take a look.

• 1st Quarter: The Hawks played great in the first quarter. They had a 26-20 lead at the end of the first quarter. They limited LeBron to just 1-3 shooting and he had just 2 points. At that point though, the Cavs lead the rebound advantage 15-6. Jeff Teague had 9 points in the quarter. Kyrie Irving had 2 threes and Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov had a combined total of 11 rebounds.
• 2nd Quarter: This quarter was a little different. By the end of the quarter the game was tied and the Cavs had scored 31 points in the quarter. LeBron shot 7-9 in that quarter and had 14 points. J.R. Smith had 3 threes in the quarter and shot only 4. Only 4 Cavs players scored in this quarter. Matthew Dellavedova missed all 4 shots he took including 3 three pointers. Jeff Teague had 8 points in the quarter. Kyle Korver didn't even take a shot as he was the only one that didn't score on the Hawks that quarter. The Hawks had a total of 5 turnovers in that quarter.
• 3rd Quarter: In this quarter, the Hawks only made 4 shots. 4 shots! They shot 23% from the floor. What saved them? Paul Millsap's free throws of course. He was 5-6 from the free throw line. The team was 7-8. The Hawks were outscored 23-16 in that quarter. The Hawks also had 5 turnover in the quarter again. They did do a better job on LeBron as he had shot just 1-5 in the quarter but LeBron shot 4-4 from the free throw line. J.R. Smith had 8 points in that quarter.
• 4th Quarter: Now this was just a disaster for the Hawks. DeMarre Carroll ended up getting injured. Then Paul Millsap was just getting sick of LeBron and could not guard him. Millsap ended up getting a technical for arguing. The Hawks only made 1-8 from the 3 point line in the quarter. And J.R. Smith hit 3 threes in the quarter. Again, only 4 Cavs players scored in that quarter. LeBron had 9 points. The Hawks ended up loosing the game.

The Hawks just have to play LeBron better. I think the main thing is just that they have to get Kyle Korver involved in the game more. Also, they can't have 10 turnovers in 2 consecutive quarters. That kills them. They also just need to shoot better. They need Korver to just take shots. The Hawks can't be shooting 4-23 from 3 point range. Hopefully Carroll recovers fast and the Hawks can have a better game.

Hawks VS Nets (game 4)

Final Score: Nets win 120-115



Series tied 2-2

Wow, this was a crucial game. The Hawks could have carried momentum back home with a lead in the series. Then Deron Williams came. Out of nowhere. Let's start off with the Nets.

Deron Williams scored in single digits and shot horrible from the field in the first three games. Last night he scored 35 points and 7-11 from 3-point range. He also had 7 assists and 3 steals. Good for Williams. This is what I said that needed to happen for the Nets to win. Deron Williams needed to produce. They could use a little more from the bench. It seems like every night that their bench does absolutely nothing. Other than that, they are doing better than anyone would expect and hopefully can keep rolling.

The Hawks played pretty good. One thing I want to point out. Korver shot 13 threes tonight and only made 4. Why doesn't he shoot 13 when he's making them. He shoots more when he is missing. It makes me so upset. Another thing is that they need to get a person the ball more when they are making shots. I like the whole "sharing" thing but there needs to be a time when someone just needs to get the ball and make something happen. They needed more plays for Carroll. He shot 8-15 from the field and 4-5 form 3 point range. He ended the game with 20 points. He needs to end with 28 in that game. Last, they just need to limit the turnovers. Let's look at the good though. They surprisingly out-rebounded the Nets by 55-40 rebounds. That's a big difference. The Hawks just need to make some minor adjustments. If they can do that, they shouldn't have any trouble winning.