Paul Jones

Paul Jones is the voice of the Raptors on the FAN 590 and writes regularly for Sportsnet.ca.

That was an ugly one last night wasn’t it? And once again the Raptors have nobody to blame but themselves as they look for answers to put the brakes on a streak that has them heading south.

The defensive effort just isn’t there right now and no matter how good the offense is, wins are going to be tough to come by unless they can stop their opponent. After taking a lead at the half, in the second half Toronto did not play like a team trying to break a three-game losing streak.

Once again, as it has been since the all-star break, it was the third quarter that proved to be the team’s undoing. For the record, Toronto is 3-9 since returning from the break and has not outscored its opponent in the third quarter in any of those 12 contests.

Toronto has not won a third quarter since Feb. 17.

Last night was no different as the Warriors outscored the Raptors 41-25, shooting a crisp 64% from the field, including seven of 10 from behind the arc. Toronto’s opponents are now clipping along at 54% in the third stanza while the Raptors are shooting 46.3% over the same span.

The bottom line is Toronto’s defense has to improve and it starts with effort. For those of you that have been following all season you’ll know what I mean when you read this next phrase.

Right now it’s not a matter of "can’t-can’t" for Toronto it’s simply a "can’t-won’t" scenario. It can change, the way it did before, starting with better focus and effort.

When asked about whether it was as simple as dusting off whatever worked defensively after the Hawks put up 146 points back in December, head coach Jay Triano could not have answered more bluntly.

"We can get it turned around by having our best guys play," said Triano. "Obviously, our best guys have to play better; bottom line."

The numbers don’t lie as the Warriors had season highs in three-point field goals (16), and offensive rebounds (18) in their victory last night.

Last night seemed to push Chris Bosh to the edge as he was very direct when speaking to the media following the game. The spectre of frustration was evident in the tone of his voice and the selection of his words.

"All in all, we didn’t come to play," said Bosh. "We are supposed to be a playoff team but if we keep playing like this, we will be on the outside looking in. Guys need to step up, period. I’m glad I’m not the coach because I wouldn’t know what to do either."

Is it time to shake things up? If it’s going to happen it will probably come to pass after the team has time to practice.

But, whatever the elixir is, Toronto had better find it fast and guzzle it, because the games don’t get any easier starting with the second half of the back-to-back tonight in Portland before coming home to face Atlanta and Oklahoma City.

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Boy, did former Raptor Dell Curry’s kid Stephen do it to his old man’s former team last night, particularly in the second half. After scoring only nine points in the first half, Curry went off in the second half putting on a shooting display knocking down nine of 12 shots, four of five from behind the arc and registering five assists.

Curry finished with a double-double of 35 points and 10 assists and had as many rebounds as any Raptor starter not named Chris Bosh.

Prior to the game, Curry chatted with some of the Toronto media and talked about what an advantage he had growing up around the game, particularly being in Toronto when Vince Carter was taking the league by storm.

He talked about how beneficial it was to gain experience being around guys like Carter and current Raptors assistant coach Alvin Williams back then, saying that it made his transition to the NBA a bit smoother.

Sure it’s natural to say that, but the kid was in the eighth grade at the time. Talk about maturity.

Curry also told us how it was great to get out of the first round of the NBA’s long distance shootout at All-Star Weekend as his dad competed in the event twice but never got out of the first round. It sounds like he won a friendly wager with his pops after turning the trick. Curry’s shooting skills were something that Williams could see even back then. Both Curry boys, Stephen and Seth would be on the court at the Air Canada Centre before games hoisting up shots.

It’s interesting that when he was in Toronto in the course of an interview with the family, Stephen said he wanted to attend Duke to play basketball. He knew it back then but when it came time to go to college, as somewhat of a late bloomer, his father Dell said that he wasn’t quite ready for the rigors of the ACC, so he attended Davidson.

In essence, Duke didn’t want him but the Blue Devils, headed by legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski, are not going to miss out on a Curry again as Stephen’s younger brother Seth is sitting out this season after transferring to Durham North Carolina to attend Duke and will be ready to play next season.

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And finally, I’ll always say this about someone wearing a Raptors jersey on the road: "That’s a real fan."

Why?

It’s easy to buy a Kobe jersey or a LeBron jersey, but when you show up wearing a Raptors jersey, I’m giving you credit for being a real fan and not just buying the jersey of a popular player.

To that end, let’s give a shoutout to Chris and Dale Smith, a married couple, both of whom are teachers, who celebrated their 10th anniversary recently.

How did they mark the occasion? Did they have a quiet dinner in a dimly lit room with a romantic setting?

Well maybe, but last night they were at the game in Oakland cheering on the Raptors. Good for them and congratulations.