Another day, another 1-point loss
A depressing start to this season for the Toronto Raptors turned even darker the past two nights. First in San Francisco, then Portland, the Raptors held last-minute leads only to have their opponents slip ahead. As the final seconds ticked away, shots by Pascal Siakam rattled around the rim, but refused to drop.
Toronto returns to Tampa tied with the Detroit Pistons for the NBA’s worst record at 2-8. The loss to the Blazers is even more aggravating than the one to the Warriors, because the Raptors were in control most of the game. Sadly, this Toronto team doesn’t have a go-to scorer when the supporting cast is firing blanks. The Raptors surrendered a Q2 lead of 17 points, and a Q4 one of 14, to fail at the wire again.
While excuses are of little value, the dismal late shooting, particularly that of Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, should be laid at the feet of the NBA schedule-maker. Back-to-back games are a blight.
Once again, there were positive aspects to this game for Raptors fans. Siakam enjoyed his first professional triple-double (22 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists). He reminds me of Magic Johnson during those trips when he handles the ball like a point guard.
Chris Boucher is the team’s most improved player. He knocked down five of eight long balls, blocked three shots (including one of his specialty, a ruined corner-3) and was whistled just once for a foul. He is making a mockery of the competition at center; there is none. Alex Len, in a brief showing, was repeatedly treated like a pylon by the speedy Blazers. He was a complete non-factor, not managing a point or a board in 9+ minutes. Aron Baynes is buried so deep on the depth chart, he may set a team record for non-appearances.
Stanley Johnson continues to make a case for more minutes. His value is almost entirely defensive, though he did manage seven points. Could he pop in a few baskets every game, while harassing the opponents’ backcourt as he’s been doing? At least he’d pay for himself. OG Anunoby appears to be in a groove from outside the last few games. In Portland, he finished with 18 points, including 4 of 6 from deep.
Carmelo Anthony was the prime reason Portland wiped out Toronto’s healthy lead. He’s like Kobe Bryant – everyone in the building knows he’s going to hoist up shots, and yet he gets them away despite frequently in-your-face defense. Other players might have stopped shooting after making only one of five from deep before intermission, but not ‘Melo. He missed just 1 of 4 in the second half. His shooting was critical to the Blazers’ comeback, as was that of their superb guard pairing of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Those three scored 32 of Portland’s 36 points in Q4.
Best Raptor
While there’s certainly an argument for the ascendant Boucher, he has to take second place behind Pascal. Triple-doubles are very rare and must be recognized.
Worst Raptor
No one was terrible, but I can’t let a loss go. I’ll have to yoke Fred and KLo together, as their combined 5 from 19 from deep was unacceptable. Neither had a bucket in the disastrous fourth quarter.
Tip ins
Norman Powell’s humdrum effort still produced a Raptors-high +9.
The Blazers took 25 free throws to the Raptors’ 12. Both our guards were complaining all night about non-calls when attacking the basket.
Jusuf Nurkic played 9+ minutes, then was done for the night with an injury. Veteran Enes Kanter stepped up with 12 points on 7 shots. Having a backup center of quality really helps.
Next Up
The Raptors play the Charlotte Hornets in two straight games at Tampa (because of pandemic-induced travel restrictions) on Thursday and Saturday.
