Raptors get exposed in embarrassing loss to Warriors The word is out on one of the Raptors' greatest weaknesses, which did not bode well for their predictable attack against the NBA's best team on Friday. Written on the Warriors' white board in the visiting locker room ahead of tip-off: "Control [DeMar] DeRozan's catch-shoot game. He rarely passes."

Josh Lewenberg TSN Raptors Reporter Follow|Archive

TORONTO - The word is out on one of the Raptors' greatest weaknesses, which did not bode well for their predictable attack against the NBA's best team on Friday.

Written on the Warriors' white board in the visiting locker room ahead of tip-off: "Control [DeMar] DeRozan's catch-shoot game. He rarely passes."

"Defend the ball. Much of what they do reverso to 1 on 1 player," it continued.

Many teams, Raptors included, cover up their board for pre-game media availability but this memo, while noteworthy, hardly comes as a surprise. Toronto's offence, even at its best, isn't exactly predicated on creativity and ball movement. It's been especially stale of late but it's never looked worse than it did on Friday.

"It was a good old fashioned woodshed butt-kicking," Dwane Casey said after his team's embarrassing 113-89 loss to the first-place Warriors, their fourth consecutive defeat, matching a season-most. "There are no excuses for that type of performance. Most of it was them, and the other part was us. It was one of those old-fashioned butt-whoopings that [went] from start to finish."

The Raptors never led. They never came close. James Johnson hit Toronto's third shot of the night. They went the remainder of the first quarter without connecting on another, setting a franchise record in futility by shooting 1-for-19 during the frame.

Mired in a bad slump, having recently referring to their games as "trash", DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry tried shooting themselves out of it, with little success. The Raptors' guards missed their first 14 attempts, most of them contested, many of them off the dribble.

With Golden State up by 34, doubling Toronto's score just over three minutes into the third quarter, Casey sent a strong message to his club, subbing out the entire starting lineup.

By the time a Raptors' player (Terrence Ross) reached double figures, Golden State's dynamic backcourt duo of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson each had 20. When Curry's three-ball put the visitors up by 40 moments later, the restless Air Canada Centre crowd voiced their displeasure, only to cheer up briefly after Tyler Hansbrough was tossed for getting into it with Warriors' centre Festus Ezeli.

It was ugly and although this is just one night, one loss, an expected one against the league's best, the more pressing concern lies in their lifeless offence, something the Warriors were able to exploit with ease.

"Not enough," Casey responded pre-game, asked if his team is moving the ball to his liking. "That's who DeMar is, he's a semi-postup player and he's going to be in that situation. But it's up to his teammates to make sure they get to their spots, get the proper spacing. If they see their man cut, relocate. We have certain position on the floor when he is in the post and it's up to them to get to where they are. But at the end of the day we do have to do a better job of moving the ball."

Some of those spacing concerns have come as a result of James Johnson's insertion into the starting lineup. In attempt to mitigate that issue, Casey made another change, starting Patrick Patterson in place of Amir Johnson to help spread the floor and spark the offence.

That unit - Toronto's ninth different first unit this season - could work, eventually, if Casey chooses to stick with it. Having played just 24 minutes together going into Friday's contest, they didn't stand much of a chance in this daunting matchup.

The change did little to alter DeRozan or Lowry's shot selection and the result remained the same. DeRozan missed his first nine shots, hitting his first towards the end of the second quarter and finishing the game 4-of-16. Lowry was 1-for-7 in 19 minutes, leaving for the locker room in the opening quarter for what he called "general soreness."

"[We have to] start making the game fun again and just going out there and playing and executing the game plan," the point guard said. "Basketball's fun in general [but] when you're losing it just kind of sucks the life out of you a little bit. The love of the game is always going to be there. Just got to find a way to make the love and passion get back out there."

"It's tough, especially we were missing a lot of shots," DeRozan added. "We were getting a couple stops in the first quarter, and we missed a lot of shots, got stagnant a little bit and they just ran away with it. They got hot, and ran off with it."

DeRozan pointed to the Warriors' pristine offence as a benchmark, as he should. He's not the only one looking to them as an example of how this game should be played. Golden State leads the NBA in assists, scoring and pace.

Although they've had success scoring their way - the Raptors have been a top five offensive club for the bulk of this season - it's time to wonder if 'their way' is sustainable. The league is on to them. How will they adjust?