Were the Toronto Raptors expected to lose last night to the Boston Celtics? Possibly...but as the HQ's Sean Tepper describes, the way the C's won this match represented another low in a season full of them for the Dinos...
There's honestly nothing more to say about the Toronto Raptors.
Anyone who even remotely follows NBA basketball knows that the Raptors are one of the worst teams in the league, but Friday night's 122-102 thrashing at the hands of the Boston Celtics was more than just a bad game. It was an embarrassment.
Despite the fact that the Celtics were firing on all cylinders, things looked good for the Dinos early on in the first quarter as they were able to compete with Celtics, almost matching them bucket for bucket.
That was until Luke Harrangody entered the game.
Despite having played a combined 89 minutes and scoring 22 points over the course of the season, Doc Rivers felt that the 6'7 251 pound rookie forward out of Notre Dame deserved some early minutes.
And boy did Harrangody make the most out of them.
While he only played four minutes in the first quarter, Harrangody was able to score 8 points while going 4-4 from the field. That performance was all that Doc Rivers needed to see as he continued to give his second round draft pick more and more minutes as the game progressed.
After all was said and done, Harrangody finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes, all career highs. Heck, the Raptors made Harrangody look like Kevin Garnett in his prime.
The Raps did manage to tease their fans with a potential comeback as both Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan got Toronto to within 12 points of the lead in the fourth quarter, but that small glimmer of hope was quickly crushed as the Celtics proceeded to go on a 15-1 run that all but ensured them the W.
Paul Pierce may have scored 20 points and Ray Allen may have shot 75 per cent from the field, but Luke Harrangody was the main contributor to Toronto's loss and that is why Friday night's game was an embarrassment.
Let's be honest with ourselves, while they may have beaten them earlier in the season, nobody expected the Dinos to go into tonight's game and beat the second best team in the NBA at home.
No, we expected them to get crushed, but to get crushed at the hands of one of Boston's many star players, not by Luke Harrangody.
Believe it or not, this was not even the most frustrating part of the night. The fact that the Dinos shot 50.6 per cent from the field in addition to having all five of their starters reach double digits in scoring was more frustrating than getting dominated by a rookie forward because it proves that they have one of the most incompetent and lacklustre defences in the league.
While some may argue that the Raptors could have taken better shots or have been more patient with the ball, the fact of the matter is that they were still able to put up 102 points against a team that ranks first in the NBA in points allowed per game with 91.1.
So what if their defence was able to hold Rajon Rondo to nine points and seven assists, the Celtics still managed to have six players score over ten points while shooting 57 per cent (including 52 per cent from downtown).
I'm not sure how Jay Triano is going to fix his team's defence, but he is going to have to think of something fast, or the Raptors are going to find themselves in the cellar of the Atlantic Division.
Now I know Raptors fans are sick and tired about hearing how bad their team has been playing, so I am going to end this "Tip In" on a positive note.
Ed Davis' dunk over Jermaine O'Neal in the second quarter was sick...right?
Sean Tepper