Streaking Raptors try to avoid letdown vs. Hornets
TORONTO -- The Toronto Raptors will try to win their seventh game in a row Wednesday night when they play the Charlotte Hornets at Air Canada Centre. Yet, Raptors coach Dwane Casey saw some warning signs in win No. 6, a 131-112 trouncing of the Orlando Magic on Monday. "It was brother-in-law basketball," Casey said. "We'll take the win, but we can't be happy with our defensive performance, trading baskets like that. We have bigger goals in mind and, if we intend on achieving them, we have to have a better mindset than we had tonight defensively. We shot 59 percent from the field; offense is not the problem. It's the defensive side that we did not have a focus on." The Raptors (45-29) have clinched a playoff spot and are playing for postseason position, with home-court advantage in mind. They sit fourth in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the third-place Washington Wizards. The Hornets (33-41), after losing 118-108 to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night, are three games behind the Miami Heat, who occupy the final Eastern Conference postseason position. Casey admits that a team that has clinched a playoff spot can fall into bad habits playing teams such as the Magic that are out of playoff contention. "Everybody goes through it," Casey said. "Teams are playing for different reasons, different goals. We can't let our goals slip. I thought going against Dallas and Miami, teams that are playing for something, playing with intensity, no disrespect to Orlando, but we can't fall into that trap. That's where professionalism and veteran players have to step in and say, 'That's enough.'" He said the Raptors will need to play better defensively than they did Monday. "We've been better defensively and that's our challenge -- to have that mindset every game, not just when our backs are against the wall," Casey said. "But it has to be a habit, and (Monday) we took a step back." The Raptors can expect to play a team in a bad mood after the loss Tuesday. "Our defense was beyond bad," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "These are the games where the competitors show up, and we didn't. We got killed tonight." The Hornets had won four of their previous five games before falling to Milwaukee. "It's pretty simple," Clifford said. "In a game of this magnitude, where there's a lot to play for, they put a lot more into it than we did. They played harder from the beginning. You've got to try. It's hard to  a good team in this league if you don't try. It's hard to pinpoint anybody who had the right care factor. That's the bottom line." "He's right," Hornets guard Nic Batum said. "The way we started was pretty bad. Tonight we didn't have it. Why? I don't know. But we just didn't have it." Batum shot 2 of 9 from the field. "Sometimes you need that slap in the face, maybe, to get back on track again and win games," Batum said. Kemba Walker scored 26 points for Charlotte. Charlotte's Marco Belinelli and Milwaukee's Khris Middleton butted heads in the fourth quarter. Belinelli was bleeding profusely. While the Hornets will be in desperation mode, the Raptors also have their goals as they approach the playoffs. "Every time we go out we are working for something and trying to get better every game on the little things to be ready for the playoffs," Raptors guard Norman Powell said. "We know that's going to start on the defensive end, so we have to lock in on that end first, whether we are hitting shots or missing shots. Whatever it is, the defensive mentality has to become the first thing we do coming out into games." The Raptors have won two of the three games between the teams with the teams splitting a pair in Charlotte and the Raptors winning the one game in Toronto. |