L&E Cosmetic : NBA scores 2015: Raptors drop third straight on West road trip, Pistons win again

Monday, January 5, 2015

NBA scores 2015: Raptors drop third straight on West road trip, Pistons win again

Another tough loss for Toronto, the emerging post-Josh Smith Pistons and the rest of the action from Sunday in the NBA.

Nearing the end of a brutal Western Conference road trip over the past nine days, the Toronto Raptors certainly looked the part. Exhausted and overwhelmed on both sides of the floor, the team was pummeled by the Phoenix Suns, 125-109, on Sunday night for its third straight loss.

The new year hasn't been kind to the Raptors, who were saddled with a brutal five-game trip across the West after taking Christmas off. The team started it in decent fashion, winning back-to-back games over the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets, but has stumbled over a three-game stretch against Portland, Golden State and Phoenix.

The losing streak started Dec. 30 with a 102-97 overtime loss to the Trail Blazers, a game that saw Toronto leading by 13 points in the fourth quarter before letting Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge take over. Three days later, Draymond Green would record his first career triple-double as the Warriors strolled to a 126-105 smackdown.

Then on Sunday night, the wheels came off again in Phoenix, particularly on the defensive end. The Raptors haven't been good defensively this season (21st in defensive efficiency, per NBA.com), but they've been a complete mess in allowing 251 points over the past two games.

Following a relatively tame first quarter, which concluded with the Raptors trailing, 27-19, the team would allow 43 points over the next 12 minutes. Toronto had a good offensive showing of its own over that 12 minutes, but it hardly mattered as Phoenix chugged out to a 70-53 halftime lead.

A less lopsided second half did little to change the tune in a thoroughly dominant showing by the Suns. Phoenix shot 54 percent as a team, including 8-of-23 from three-point range, and held a 34-16 advantage on fast break points. Both sides committed a lot of turnovers -- 20 for Toronto, 16 for Phoenix -- but the Suns did a much better job of taking advantage.

The poor defense signals a potentially concerning trend for Toronto, which has fairly earned aspirations of reaching the Finals in an unsettled Eastern Conference. The team has allowed 100-plus points in seven of eight games and an average of 111.3 points over that span, and will have a hard time winning several series with such shaky play on that end.

Luckily, the Raptors are in the East, where they'll have opportunities to play through their issues against lesser opponents and avoid the kinds of teams they've played recently. You can see it in their upcoming schedule, which is extremely favorable:

Jan. 8 vs. Charlotte (11-24)

Jan. 10 vs. Boston (11-20)

Jan. 12 vs. Detroit (10-23)

Jan. 14 vs. Philadelphia (4-28)

The team finishes the homestand with matchups against the red-hot Atlanta Hawks and the Anthony Davis-led New Orleans Pelicans, but not before getting a solid week of relatively easy games. That figures to be just what the team needs after starting 2015 with pretty much the worst slate of games possible.

The Raptors may have revealed some genuine flaws over the past couple weeks, but there's little reason to panic in the Eastern Conference. Even if a rough stretch against the West's best was likely humbling, there aren't many teams that can survive that kind of gauntle.

3 other things we learned

Andre Drummond is leading the Pistons back to relevance. Detroit's improvement may not necessarily be as simple as a little addition by subtraction, but the team's success since releasing Josh Smith is undeniable. A 114-95 blowout win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday was the team's fifth straight victory, each by double digits. The schedule has helped Detroit, for sure, but the team is also winning games by an average margin of 18.2 points since dropping J-Smoove. Andre Drummond in particular has looked more comfortable:

Drummond stats	PPG	RPG	BPG	FG%	MPG
28 games with Smith	12.4	12.6	1.8	48.2	29.9
5 games without Smith	15.0	15.8	2.4	62.7	31.0

Kevin Love is doing his best to keep Cleveland afloat. The Cavaliers are stumbling badly in recent weeks, with the injury to LeBron James only magnifying the team's issues. A 109-90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday was the team's fifth in seven games, and now Cleveland is closer to the sixth-place Milwaukee Bucks than the third-place Washington Wizards in the standings. Kevin Love has been stellar over the past two games, averaging 28.5 points on 56 percent shooting, but it's becoming clear that won't be enough to keep winning as long as James is out. Luckily, a matchup against the Sixers looms on Monday night -- if the Cavaliers can't win that one, expect the calls for concern to get that much louder.

Wade and Bosh can still throw it back sometimes. The Miami Heat can't depend on their veteran stars to carry the load every night anymore, but a 88-84 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday felt like a nice throwback. With pretty much nobody else on the roster producing other than recent breakout name Hassan Whiteside, Chris Bosh went off for 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while Dwyane Wade added 25 points on 9-of-20 shooting, seven assists and six rebounds. Coming off a 36-point beatdown at the hands of the Houston Rockets on Saturday, it was encouraging to see Miami rebound on the second night of a back-to-back.

Play of the Night

It's been a tough start to the season for Archie Goodwin. The second-year Suns guard appeared in just his second game since Dec. 2 on Sunday night, and has shot 34 percent from the field in 12 games this season. The 20-year-old is still clearly a work in progress, and doesn't get a ton of chances in a talented Phoenix backcourt. With all that said, plays like this one during garbage time against the Raptors show why Goodwin was drafted in the first round two years ago, and why he remains an exciting prospect. Those are some serious hops.