Raptors Power Past Pistons for 11th Straight Win, 111-107

Both Lowry and DeRozan are going to the All-Star game. By now you’ve probably read or heard about one of the NBA’s most endearing bromances. Kyle Lowry is looking to score, DeMar DeRozan is looking to score. If they’re going to keep up their winning ways, consider these 11 stats that tell the story of Toronto’s record-breaking stretch.

Although they’ve probably been playing it up for the cameras a tad lately, their friendship is honest and they’re not alone.

Faried and Harris did not play against the Raptors in the Nuggets’ win against them back on December 3 in Toronto.

“We do everything together, all the guys”. “We talk about everything, all the guys on the team”. “We joke around on the road”.

“We’re just pushing the pace, pushing it every single night”, said James, whose Cavs have scored at least 114 points in four straight games. Does good chemistry beget team success, or does team success allow relationships to blossom that would otherwise be contentious?

Chemistry is one of the most ambiguous concepts in professional sports, hard to plan for and just about impossible to quantify. He won the award in December 2013 and November 2014 and is the only coach in team history to win multiple times.

The Raptors (32-15) were flawless on a seven-game homestand and have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

“Tonight, I was trying to get to my spots, and even Reggie – he’s not used to me being out there, he’s used to Ersan, and Ersan has a little bit different flair to his game, and he’s cutting more and doing more around the basket, and I’m trying to find my spots from the outside”. “This time around everybody wants everybody to succeed”. Tyronn Lue was the man chosen despite having only coached his new side for three games when the decision was made.

But they took full advantage of the absence of Spurs star Tim Duncan and the fact that San Antonio forward LaMarcus Aldridge was in foul trouble much of the night.

Too much fatigue, not enough shooting and way too much Drake as a furious garbage-time rally by the Pistons falls short. Over the 150 minutes that Cory Joseph, Ross, Patterson, and Bismack Biyombo have shared the court, the Raptors have outscored their opponents by 88 points.

They’ve gelled quickly and no one within the organization is surprised. I think it would be tough to change rules for three or four guys around the league… To overcome whatever your weaknesses are, you got to be great in certain areas.

That seems like a no-brainer.

“It starts with not being able to contain people off the dribble”, Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal, to be honest”, Van Gundy said, speaking generally and not specific to the Raptors. It’s called “Summer Sixteen” and you can legally listen to it on iTunes. There are two separate things. “I thought our execution was poor”.

“And if you lose sight of that it doesn’t matter”. The final result was about what you’d expect.

Hornacek was well liked by the Suns organisation but despite being given a vote of confidence last month, they have decided a change was required after a 14th consecutive road loss in Dallas.