Struggling Raptors face must-win in Golden State
Toronto has to get offence back in gear before playoffs slip away
Last Updated: Saturday, March 13, 2010 | 11:30 AM ET
By Malcolm Kelly, CBC Sports
Hedo Turkoglu needs to find his form if the Raptors are to find the playoffs. (Getty Images file)If the Toronto Raptors want to avoid coming back from a disastrous west coast road trip below the .500 mark, Saturday night looks like a must-win.
After consecutive losses to the Los Angeles Lakers (at the buzzer in a good effort) and the Sacramento Kings (horrible effort), the Raps face the Golden State Warriors (10:30 p.m. ET).
This is a club Toronto would have been expected to beat had the visitors been playing like the team that went into last month's all-star break as one of the NBA's most impressive outlets.
These Raptors, however, have lost seven of their last eight and gave up a stupefying 43 points in the third quarter against the Kings.
"We have to get back to winning games," guard Jose Calderon said. "The good thing about it is that we are still in the playoff loop. We have to try to get better and hopefully it's in our next game."
They are still "in the playoff loop" at 32-31 because only three weeks ago this was a hot club that won 10 times in 12 games and seemed to be a threat to catch fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Seems like such a long time ago. Now, they are struggling to hang on to a playoff spot.
For 20 straight games, Toronto scored over 100 points — a necessary output for a team that isn't too good at defence. But four times in the last eight they've scored under the century mark.
Where's Hedo?
Chief among the Raptors' worries has been the play of heralded first-year Raptor Hedo Turkoglu, whose up-and-down season has recently headed seriously south.
In the first two games of this four-game western road swing, the forward is just 4-of-15 from the floor, including 2-of-8 from the three-point arc. Just as concerning are the seven turnovers and eight fouls — indicative his attention may be elsewhere.
Toronto heads to 39-win Portland on Sunday night, so taking advantage of the 17-47 Warriors becomes key.
And though they run like the wind and score a lot on the fast break, Golden State should be had, if for no other reason than they continue to be decimated by injuries, with seven regulars out and five in uniform from the NBA development league (NBADL).
Ellis back in the lineup
But they also have guard Monta Ellis back with a game under his belt after six missed for a strained lower back. He had 17 points before fouling out in a loss to Portland on Thursday, a game Golden State led after three.
"We went cold at the wrong time, what can I tell you," said coach Don Nelson, who is seven wins back of becoming the NBA's winningest coach.
"We ended having a team out there that hadn't been together very much and we didn't run our stuff very well against the zone."
Whether a Raptors team that has no confidence in itself right now can take advantage may say a lot about how the rest of the season works out for Toronto.
