Game 7: Can the Raps pull it off?

It all comes down to this. Game 7.

After a tumultuous six games that have seen the Toronto Raptors experience the highest of highs, the lowest of lows, and everything in between, Toronto has just one more game to, once again, prove the world wrong.

WHAT THE RAPTORS HAVE GOING FOR THEM:

Home Cooking: The Raptors fought for home-court advantage for this exact situation. Home teams are an overwhelming 91-23 in NBA playoff Game 7s and given the pandemonium seen both inside and outside Air Canada Centre throughout the series, the atmosphere should be wild.

Crowd aside, the Raptors have played much better at home in the post-season than on the road, scoring 106.9 points per 100 possessions in friendly confines as opposed to the 97.4 away. However, their defence has taken a major hit at home as they’ve allowed the Nets to score 109.7 points per 100 possessions, whereas during the regular season visiting teams scored 101.9 points per 100 possession at the ACC.

If the Raptors want to win, getting their defence closer to their regular season level is a must.

DeMar DeRozan: His dreadful Game 1 aside, DeRozan has looked every bit the all-star in this series, averaging 27 points per game, getting to the free-throw line 12.8 times per contest and converting on his charity stripe shots 87.5 percent of the time in games 2-6.

DeRozan was pretty much the only player who looked ready to play in Game 6 for the Raptors, scoring 28 points, including 18 in the first half. For the past five contests the Nets haven’t been able to do anything to prevent DeRozan from getting into the paint and drawing fouls, and seeing how he’s averaging 13.5 free-throw attempts per game at home, don’t bank on the trend changing suddenly.

Ball Movement: A big part of the Raptors’ near-epic collapse in Game 5 and their complete offensive ineptitude in Game 6 was their inefficient ball movement. Brooklyn’s defensive adjustment to blitz the ball handler in pick-and-roll situations has really flustered the Raptors, forcing them into late-clock, isolation situations.

Toronto will need to get the ball out quicker when the double-team comes and swing it to the weak side where an open man should be waiting. If the Raptors can do this successfully it should blow up the Nets’ scheme, opening up that dangerous Raptors pick-and-roll again.

WHAT THE NETS HAVE GOING FOR THEM:

On a Roll: The Nets have outscored the Raptors 166-136 over the last six quarters of the series, shooting a scorching 52.1 percent during that time frame. They’re getting any look they want and the Game 6 adjustment by Jason Kidd to insert Alan Anderson into the starting lineup paid great dividends as he was able to spread the floor more with his outside threat, giving Deron Williams more room to operate.

Experience: The most tired storyline and talking point of the series will rear its ugly head once again in Game 7. Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett are champions; Williams and Joe Johnson have gone deep into multiple playoff series in the past; and, despite the fact that no rookie coach has won a Game 7 before, Kidd has also seen the top of the mountain as a player. There will be no panic from the Nets on Sunday. Can the same be said of the young Raptors?

The Whistle: Kidd was handed a $25,000 fine for criticising the referees in Game 5. The price was well worth it however as the officials seemed to have got the message from him in Game 6, sending the Nets to the free-throw line five more times than the Raptors and taking Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas completely out of any rhythm with early fouls called on them. This kind of grey-area move is what made Kidd such a fierce competitor as a player. Now the question is, will that same level of influence carry over from Brooklyn to Toronto?

PLAYER TO WATCH:

Kyle Lowry: After his brilliant Game 5, Lowry just didn’t have it in Game 6. Full credit goes to the Nets defence for blitzing him on the pick-and-roll, but there were some shots that simply didn’t go down. For the night, the Raptors sparkplug shot just 4-for-16 for 11 points and four assists. He can’t repeat that performance in Game 7 if Toronto wants to reach the second round for the first time since 2001.

Simply put, when Lowry’s been on in this series, the Raptors have won. The former Villanova stud is averaging 24 points on 46.8 percent shooting (47.4 from deep) and seven free-throw attempts per game in wins. Whereas, in losses he’s only shooting 34.9 percent (30 from behind-the arc) and 4.7 free-throw attempts for 16 points per game.

Can Lowry be the hero once again?