Toronto Raptors

Raptors face another desperate team in Pistons (Apr 05, 2017)

Published Apr. 5, 2017 9:24 a.m. ET

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AP

The Toronto Raptors began a stretch of games this week against Eastern Conference teams desperate to make the playoffs. The first one didn't go well.

Indiana recovered from a slow start to defeat Toronto 108-90 on Tuesday. The Pacers outscored the Raptors 65-39 in the second half.

Toronto plays another team still alive in the postseason race, the fading Detroit Pistons, at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Wednesday night. That will be followed by a home game on Friday against another contender for one of the remaining spots, Miami, before finishing on the road against New York and Cleveland.

"You've got teams playing for playoff position," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "Every possession is important. It's just like the playoffs at both ends of the floor. That's what you'll see in the next few games."

Prior to their second-half flop in Indiana, the Raptors had won eight of their last nine games. The loss to Indiana, coupled with Washington's victory over Charlotte, dropped the Raptors (47-31) into a third-place tie with the Wizards in the East.

Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points Tuesday, but none of his teammates scored more than 11. The Raptors had only 11 assists on 34 baskets, a sign they could use point guard Kyle Lowry as the season winds up. Lowry has been sidelined since the All-Star Game after undergoing right wrist surgery, but he could return before the playoffs.

DeRozan, who had two assists against the Pacers, was forced to expand his duties in Lowry's absence.

"He's more of a quasi-point guard for us now, making decisions," Casey said. "He's handling the pick-and-roll better; the players around him are handing the situations better. He's having so much usage right now, having the ball so much, it has made him a quasi-point guard. It's a blessing in disguise for him to get that type of experience."

The Pistons (35-42) cling to slim hopes of securing a playoff berth despite losing nine of their last 11 games, dropping them 2 1/2 games off the pace. They haven't played since Friday, when they lost 108-105 in overtime at Milwaukee.

"Right now it's just continue to fight. We know the deal," coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters. "We have to pretty much go undefeated and we need a couple of teams to lose three more games. It's not easy, but nothing's impossible in this league."

Detroit played two home games last week, losing on a last-second tip-in to Miami and edging Brooklyn by a point. The Pistons have shot just 41.2 percent from the field and 27.9 percent on 3-point attempts during the last 11 games.

Van Gundy has not played starting point guard Reggie Jackson the last four games because of fatigue and physical issues. Jackson never regained his explosiveness after missing the first 21 games with a knee injury.

It's uncertain whether Jackson will play again this season. Van Gundy is more concerned with finding a way to finish strong.

"We've made some defensive improvement but not enough to make up for what we lost on the offensive end," he said. "That's all stuff to deal with starting in a couple of weeks. Right now, it's about trying to play really well on Wednesday. I've been heartened by our effort in the last three games."

Toronto leads the season series 2-1. In the last meeting, March 17 at The Palace, the Raptors held the Pistons to three points in the last nine minutes and pulled away to an 87-75 victory.

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