The good and bad news against the Mavs

The bad news

The Raptors dropped their second game in as many nights on Wednesday, Nov. 7, losing 109-104 to the Mavericks, falling to 1-4 on the season, good enough for last place in the Atlantic division. The Mavs improved to 4-1 and increased their winning streak to three games. They sit second in the Southwest.

O.J. Mayo and Chris Kaman led the Mavs, both dropping 22 points. Kaman added eight rebounds, while Mayo added five boards and dished out six assists. Vince Carter, yes, Vince Carter contributed positively to his team, scoring 17 points and grabbing five rebounds to keep this game out of reach. 

Derozan had a nice bounce-back game from last night, where he performed dismally against the Thunder. Tonight, he had 24 points, six rebounds and, seven assists. He was aggressive all game, attacking the rim regularly. It's the way Derozan needs to play to be an all-star player in this league. He struggles when he relies on threes and fade away jumpers. Bargnani added 25 points and nine rebounds in a losing effort.

The game was played at a frenetic pace early as Dallas seemed to push the ball on almost every possession, exploiting the Raps in transition. Poor rebounding hurt the Raps all game but especially in the first half. They were out-rebounded 47-38. As a team that's supposed to pride itself on defence, the Raptors have looked undisciplined too often. Giving up 16 offensive rebounds can't happen if they want to beat the better teams in this league.

While the Raps kept the game somewhat close, cutting the deficit to single digits multiple times, they were never able to capitalize on the Mavs' scoring droughts. The third quarter was especially frustrating, with the Raptors unable to get closer than within eight points, despite a number of chances.

Like most NBA games, the fourth quarter was the most exciting. The Raps finally started rebounding and cut the lead to six points. Bargnani played well, making big plays like the no-look he had to Dominic McGuire for an easy bucket.

The game was back and forth for the last few minutes but Kaman provided the dagger when he hit a baby hook with about 45 seconds left.

It was a rough game for the Raps. They came out sluggish to start the game, not unusual considering this was the second game of a back to back, and never really had the run they needed to give them a chance to win.

The Raps struggled without Lowry. He brings so much more to the team than just scoring. He's one of the better rebounders on the team, gives the Raps some speed in the backcourt, and is a much better defender than both Calderon and Lucas III. Let's hope he recovers from his ankle injury soon.

Valanciunus had his first game where he was plagued with foul trouble. He was limited to only 10 minutes of action due to his five fouls.

The Raptors play again on Saturday, Nov. 10, at home against the Sixers.

The good news

Now the good news: Vince Carter said he would one day like to return to the Raptors' organization. This is just a hunch but I'm not sure if the fans have totally forgiven him yet.