Once seemingly infallible in the midst of a torrid 23-8 start, the Toronto Raptors have plummeted out of the stratosphere and back into a middling layer of the NBA atmosphere.
Following a 110-89 drubbing at the hands of the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks Friday night, Toronto is 2-5 since the start of the New Year. According to Raptors media relations, Friday's outing was the club's least productive offensive showing in nearly 10 months:
Subsequently, the Raptors have quickly receded from their perch as the conference's No. 2 seed and are in danger of slipping behind the Chicago Bulls and nestling into the No. 4 seed.
This regression shouldn't be terribly surprising, though.
Toronto's lackluster defense has been overshadowed by an overachieving offense all season long. Generating 109.9 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com, Toronto continues to rank among the league's top seven in terms of overall net rating (plus-4.9) despite posting a defensive rating of 105.0.
And while that deceptive margin had been able to mask flaws during the sea ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Alec Nathan
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