The Raptors can tweak their offence from now until the start of the NBA playoffs, but if they remain as disinterested in guarding people as they were Thursday night they will be doomed.
The 122-118 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, fashioned with three good minutes of two-way play in the fourth quarter, was nice and made the evening entertaining, but the troubling defensive signs are going to bother coach Dwane Casey for days.
On a night when the offence was effective — Toronto made 16 three-pointers and got big offensive plays down the stretch from DeMar DeRozan and a three from Serge Ibaka — they were lucky to escape the Air Canada Centre with a win.