Pistons Continue to Own Raptors & Other Takeaways from Toronto's Loss to Detroit

The Toronto Raptors rallied late following Nurse Nurse's third quarter ejection, but Dwane Casey's Detroit Pistons continue to pester the Raptors

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Same old, same old.

Stop me if you've heard this before, but the Toronto Raptors have once again found a way to fall to Dwane Casey and the lowly Detroit Pistons, this time by a 108-106 margin Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena

1. Pistons Continue to Own Raptors

Is it funny or just sad? It doesn't matter how bad the Pistons are, the Raptors just can't have it easy with Detroit. Casey may refute it, but he's simply cursed Toronto.

"Someone said something about getting hyped up (to play Toronto). We get 'a' win I’m hyped, no matter who it is. There’s nothing to that," Casey said pre-game. "There’s no personal (thing). There are 29 hard teams to play in this league for men, I’ve been so many places, if you start counting and think you gotta play hard against this team and that team you get confused so it's one of those things."

And yet, there's simply no other reason the Raptors should be 3-9 against Detroit since Nick Nurse took over the team in 2018.

"I don’t really have any explanation for it," Nurse said pre-game.

2. Nurse's Ejection Sparks Raptors

Late in the third quarter, Nurse had seen enough. Down 16 following a questionable foul call against Dalano Banton, he decided it was time to really shake things up. Having already used his coach's challenge, he just lost his mind on referee Marc Davis. Nurse blew right through the first technical foul and didn't stop arguing until Davis sent him packing.

Nick Nurse was LIVID pic.twitter.com/nQZ96xIYIU

— Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) March 4, 2022

Did it actually make a difference? Who knows.

"We appreciate him kind of going to bat for us and fighting," Pascal Siakam said. 

Regardless, the Raptors immediately responded. The crowd got back into things and Toronto went on a 16-6 run to pull within six.

It was a run that seemed to come out of nowhere. Scottie Barnes and Siakam began to make headway and that pressure defense that Detroit seemed to pick apart early all of the sudden confounded the young Pistons. After holding Cade Cunningham to a contested jumper late in the fourth, Gary Trent Jr. found Precious Achiuwa who nailed a clutch three-pointer to pull Toronto to within four.

If not for an 18-point third-quarter deficit and some questionable calls, the Raptors probably would have pulled off the comeback, but a circus finish from Saddiq Bey allowed Detroit to sneak out with the victory.

"I think a lot of opportunities got taken away from us on both sides of the floor and we were just had to do whatever we had to do to get ourselves back in the game," Achiuwa said. "I think we did a great job fighting back and we just gotta keep coming with the same intensity every game, starting every game with the same intensity that we had in today’s game."

3. NBA Needs to Change Challenge Rules

The whole Banton kerfuffle could have been avoided had Nurse still had the challenge he burned on a personal foul the referees incorrectly called on Siakam in the first half that was eventually overturned. In the NFL, you don't lose a challenge nor a timeout if you successfully challenge a call. It's strange that NBA coaches are punished for correcting the referee's mistake.

"Doesn't seem to quite add up," Nurse said. "I don't really know what I'd like to see but I think if you win the challenge regardless, you shouldn't lose your timeout regardless of what situation you're in."

4. Raptors Need VanVleet Back

The Raptors are so limited offensively when Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby are sidelined. If Trent Jr. isn't nailing his three-pointers, things deteriorate quickly. His 3-for-15 struggles from behind the arc left Toronto with very little firepower from deep.

It sounds like VanVleet is doing OK, though the injury has been a little strange. The Raptors are hoping to get him some rest right now, but too much rest could cost them.

VanVleet Steps Into Coaching Vacancy

With Nurse watching from the locker room, VanVleet decided to test his hand at coaching, helping Adrian Griffin out for the final quarter and a bit.

This is what you call leadership pic.twitter.com/n24hkcGqru

— Libaan Osman (@libaanstar1) March 4, 2022

Raptors Confirm Anunoby's Timeline

OG Anunoby could have played through his fractured right ring finger, but Toronto figured he would be better off getting some time off to let the finger fully heal. The expectation is he'll be out for about two weeks, as ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported, and Nurse confirmed pre-game.

Up Next: Orlando Magic

The Raptors will be right back at it with the second half of a back-to-back, this time against the Orlando Magic at 7:30 p.m. ET