Raptors Reaction: Nov. 27 @ Houston Rockets

This one got ugly early, and the Raptors were never really a threat to win. After a string of close losses, the Raps just never showed up in this one, proving that being blown out is always worse than losing a tight game late. Here's some reaction from the game:

The Good:

• Terrence Ross easily played his best game as a pro, logging 36 minutes while scoring 19 points, and shooting over 50% from the field. James Harden blew by him a couple times, but Ross held his own overall on the defensive end as well. Hopefully this will translate into more minutes for the rookie. Oh and he did this. And this... and this.
• Kyle Lowry has got to be one of the best rebounding point guards in the league. He struggled to score in this game, and forced things a little bit offensively, but he grabbed 8 boards in the game (note: this is good for Lowry personally, but the fact that the starting point guard led the team in rebounds is terrible).
• Ed Davis had another good game off the bench, scoring 12 points and nabbing 4 rebounds in only 21 minutes. He struggles on the defensive end, but usually provides a scoring threat off the bench. I'll take the good with the bad on this one, as I still think the Raptors bench stinks overall.
• Andrea Bargnani's first half was nice, as he scored 19 points.

The Bad:

• Andrea Bargnani's second half was horrible, as he scored 2 points.
• I think Jonas Valanciunas' game has improved since the beginning of the season, but he had a painful first quarter possession. With the defense sagging dramatically, Valanciunas got the ball at the elbow, with a wide open look. He hesitated, pump-faked twice, jab-stepped twice... and travelled. C'mon JV: you've got to be able to hit an open elbow jumper.
• At halftime, Houston had outscored Toronto 16-0 on points off turnovers and had attempted 13 more field goals than the Raps... that's ridiculous.
• Linas Kleiza. I just hate this guy. In 5 minutes, he had 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 turnover, 2 fouls and 2 of those awful isolation post-ups that he loves. He's shooting 33.9% from the field this year, and inexplicably averages more minutes-per-game than both Terrence Ross and Ed Davis.
• Pretty much anything else not mentioned in "The Good" section.

Overall, it was a terrible performance from the Raps. Their next game is November 28 @ Memphis, so it should get worse before it gets better...