Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors‘ 114-109 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.
1. The Raptors gave everything they could while short-handed. It was always going to be an uphill battle with the Raptors missing Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, and all of their centres in the worst matchup in the league to not have centres for. They trailed by 12 in the fourth, and still managed to take the lead in the last two minutes. Given the circumstances, it was a great effort that came just short as the Raptors missed out on a key boxout and didn’t get the right result on two coach’s challenges in the final minute of the game. At the very least it wasn’t a repeat of the shambolic showing against Cleveland, where the Raptors were forced to take a loss by putting out an unprepared roster that wasn’t NBA calibre.
2. Joel Embiid is the ultimate mismatch. Even if the Raptors had Precious Achiuwa and Khem Birch, who were both on the bench in street clothes, there’s a good chance that Embiid still would have still produced his 36-point output. The Raptors just simply don’t have someone to match Embiid, and it was entirely predictable that he would parade to the line for 14 free throws. Embiid scored so easily at times, by ducking into the paint against a much smaller player, backing them under the basket before catching and finishing or being put at the line. There was one play where poor Yuta Watanabe was tasked with bumping Embiid, who pinned him past the baseline before finishing for an and-one through the contact, and the normally mild-mannered Watanabe slammed the ball in defeat to pick up a technical foul. These results are to be expected when the Raptors front office completely punts on centres.
3. Pascal Siakam did a good job of running the team in difficult circumstances. Siakam started brilliantly, scoring 14 points in the first quarter on a smattering of jumpers where he sought out the mismatch against Tobias Harris. The Sixers also sent double teams his way, and Siakam was clever in how he anticipated the extra defender by either feeding cutters, kicking it out, or by attacking the gaps to still get to his shot. It was an especially difficult task given that it was Embiid lurking as the help defender, a matchup that Siakam has historically struggled against, but he even beat his fellow Cameroonian at the basket on a few occasions.
4. Siakam shared that his symptoms were far milder than the first time he contracted COVID-19. Last season, before the vaccine was made available, Siakam lost 10 pounds among other severe symptoms, and he struggled heavily upon his return with a forgettable 3-of-11 performance in a loss to Detroit. This time, he compared his symptoms to a mild cold, and was sharp right away despite not being able to do much beyond Zoom workouts. Hopefully, the same pattern holds true for the other Raptors players coming out of protocols.
5. Gary Trent Jr. was overextended in a primary role. His 6-for-24 shooting performance was hardly ideal on a night where the Raptors badly needed him to score, and it was clear that his rhythm was off. Trent Jr. was mostly fine on catch-and-shoot chances, but he couldn’t find the footwork to create space on his midrange jumper. Trent Jr. did make up for the gap to some degree with his playmaking, as he recorded a career-high seven assists while operating as the primary ball handler when the Raptors shifted to a no-point-guard look, and he did score back-to-back baskets to briefly give the Raptors a one-point lead in the fourth. However, he failed to finish the job, with Trent Jr. failing to covert a driving reverse layup around Embiid, and then throwing a precarious pass to Siakam that was deflected for a turnover.
6. Chris Boucher had his best game of the season by some distance. Boucher was active throughout, snaring his 10th rebound with four minutes left in the second quarter, and was diligent in filling the lane for layups, but his game hit another level in the third quarter when he rediscovered his outside shot. Boucher made five threes in the second half which kept the Raptors afloat, including a heavily contested look over Embiid’s outstretched arms, to go along with a number of hustle plays that earned Toronto extra possessions. The turning point for Boucher came when he was switched off the matchup with Embiid, as coach Nick Nurse shifted to a bigger lineup with an extra forward in the lineup. That prevented him from picking up more fouls, and freed him up to crash the glass more liberally.
7. Most of Boucher’s explosive outings coincide with his jumper falling, but he’s not just a shooter. The best attribute to Boucher’s game is his hustle, and that needs to be consistent for Nurse to keep Boucher in the rotation. Boucher is faster than most bigs in the league, and where this is most apparent is in transition where Boucher is a consistent option to finish at the rim. His jumpers will come and go but his effort must stay consistent. Boucher was having a positive impact on the game even before he started nailing every three.
8. Missed opportunity for Malachi Flynn. He was the only healthy point guard, and yet he was so ineffective that Nurse opted to go without one in the fourth quarter. Flynn was shaky from the start, failing even to get a comfortable grip on the ball without losing the handle, and he looked clueless in how to generate shots for his team. Driving the ball was unwise, yet Flynn still tried to challenge Embiid with nothing to show for it, and he was wayward on his pull-up jumpers. Since he couldn’t threaten the defence in any way, there weren’t many chances for him to set up his teammates. He was utterly forgettable in his 32 minutes, and you have to wonder how many more chances Flynn will get this season. One of the biggest issues for the Raptors this season has been the lack of a viable backup point guard, and the fault mostly rests with Flynn.
9. D.J. Wilson has been a bright spot in both games since singing his 10-day deal. In a bizarre turn of events, Wilson wasn’t able to clear protocols until the second half, but he made the most of his opportunity scoring nine points in 13 minutes. The Raptors asked him to be the primary defender on Embiid, which is an insanely difficult task even for veteran forwards, but Wilson did just enough to spare Siakam or Boucher from that assignment, which kept them from fouling out. Offensively, Wilson has fit in seamlessly, playing within the flow of the game and cashing in when he’s open, while not trying to overextend himself in an effort to showcase himself. The Raptors do have an open roster spot if they want to keep Wilson on a longer-term basis, but it would put them slightly over the luxury tax and force them to make a move later in the year to shed salary.
10. Fred VanVleet appears to be close to a return as well. VanVleet expressed confusion over the league’s ever-changing protocols, and was ultimately ruled out of this game, but Nurse said afterwards that his starting point guard is close to returning. The Raptors have yet to win a game without VanVleet this season, and they generally struggle when he is on the bench, so just adding him to the mix would be a huge bonus. VanVleet’s help defence, specifically his knack for digging down in the post against post-up players, was just as missed as his outside shooting and overall play creation on offence.
