Raptors loosing Focus

Ugly, ugly loss by the Raptors to Philadelphia Sunday afternoon. This game exposed quite a few flaws with the current crop of Raptors.

The main thing I took from this loss, was the Raptors simply don't play hard enough for all 48 minutes. Another huge problem is Andrea Bargnani's motor - or lack thereof. He just doesn't have the will, hustle, ability - whatever you want to call it - to get on the floor for loose balls, to gravitate to balls coming off the rim, etc. and it kills the Raptors. Especially against a track meet, super athletic squad like the Sixers.
How many times did the Sixers get a second chance Sunday because Bargnani, and occasionally others, failed to corral a ball that was there for the taking? The answer is a lot.

It used to be the Raptors just weren't big enough to get those loose balls. But Bargnani certainly is both tall and sturdy enough to do so. He just doesn't.

Now some teams are simply bad matchups for other teams and when Philly is making shots - their main weakness for a few years now - they are an awful matchup for the Raptors.