ORLANDO, FLA.—The injury issues remain, the absences linger and the Toronto Raptors continue to search for a consistently effective second unit as they lurch through the middle third of a long NBA season.
With Kyle Lowry suffering through an uncharacteristically bad shooting night, DeMar DeRozan once again out with a sore right ankle and Patrick Patterson unable to play the final 40 minutes, the Raptors were beaten 102-94 by the Orlando Magic on Friday as Toronto’s swoon continues unabated.
Unable to string together the 10 or 12 very good minutes they would have needed to subdue a team that’s near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, the Raptors suffered their eighth loss in 10 games and second in a week to the Magic.
Lowry, basically on an offensive island, missed nine of 11 three-point attempts and was just 5-for-20 from the field as Toronto fell to 30-21 on the season.
Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points, but only five in the second half, and Norm Powell added 18, but DeMarre Carroll, Terrence Ross and Lucas Nogueira combined for just 16 among them as Toronto shot only 38 per cent from the field.
Serge Ibaka had 20 points for Orlando.
Patterson left after less than seven minutes with what team officials said was a left knee contusion. The veteran power forward had played six games after missing 10 of 12 because a sore left knee he first injured in Phoenix in late December. He returned after missing four games the first time, but was still labouring and sat out six more after struggling for two games.
He hadn’t shot the ball well in the second comeback — just 9-for-25 from three-point range — but his inclusion in the starting lineup had given Toronto some rotation consistency.
Patterson’s early departure and DeRozan’s absence weren’t the only notable lineup issues for the Raptors on the night.
With Cory Joseph struggling through an inconsistent stretch, a week after the Magic’s guards burned Toronto for 33 points in a 114-113 win at the Air Canada Centre, Fred VanVleet assumed the backup point-guard duties behind Lowry.
VanVleet, who has played sparingly all season, saw 22 minutes of court time while Joseph sat, until he got in the game with about nine minutes remaining.
It didn’t go at all well when he did play. In the one minute Joseph was on the court — in an ultra-small lineup with Lowry, VanVleet, Powell and Nogueira — he committed a foul that led to a Magic three-point play. Then Toronto lost C.J. Watson in transition, leading to a wide-open three-pointer for the Orlando guard.
Joseph did return to finish the game alongside Lowry in the back-court.
The Raptors have been getting little production and repeatedly suspect defensive work from the second unit that’s often anchored by Joseph. While it would be wrong to put the problems solely on him, because there has been so much upheaval on the roster thanks to the injuries, Joseph has struggled to keep opposing guards in check with his defence.
VanVleet finished with 15 points and did a solid, if unspectacular, job defensively.
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