Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors‘ 139-109 win over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
One: The Raptors bullied the Hawks into a 30-point blowout. Even when the Hawks kept it close at the start, or when the lead was trimmed down to two possessions in the third quarter, the impression was always that the Raptors had the upper hand through their sheer size advantage. The Hawks have a very traditional starting five, with five players of varying positions and skillsets, whereas the Raptors countered with an onslaught of interchangeable athletes with seven-foot-plus wingspans. Atlanta’s star backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray couldn’t find any daylight against bigger players outside of a handful of defensive breakdowns, and the Raptors eventually ran away with the win.
Two: It was a struggle for the Hawks to even get a shot off, let alone trying to find space to shoot. The Raptors hounded the ball and jumped every passing lane, while still managing to rotate over for eight blocks at the basket. Even though Young is one of the quickest and craftiest players in the league, Scottie Barnes was able to meet him 35 feet out from his own basket, contain him on the drive, and switch onto centres to neutralize the Hawks’ patented pick-and-rolls. Young was averaging 32 points and 10 assists coming into the game, but managed only 13 points on 3-of-13 shooting with 10 turnovers as the Raptors kept forcing him to play over and around length. Without their main offensive engine, the Hawks’ secondary players simply could not generate enough offence to keep pace with the Raptors.
Three: Toronto outscored Atlanta 43-10 in fast-break points. Most of that was a product of their defence, which forced the Hawks into 13 live-ball turnovers, but the Raptors were also able to run on every defensive rebound. The Raptors didn’t have much trouble in the halfcourt either, as Young was always an easy target while Pascal Siakam was playing trick-or-treat with John Collins swiping at ghosts, but transition is always where the Raptors excel. Siakam sets the tone for pushing the break, as he is almost always catching runouts or feeding his teammates for easy looks.
Four: Barnes was so much more engaged when entrusted with point-guard duties after Fred VanVleet was sidelined with back issues. Barnes opened the game with a crossover into a stepback three, followed by two more heatcheck triples, and rode out the momentum for a monstrous two-way performance in which he flirted with a triple-double while also locking down Young. His perimeter shooting isn’t as consistent as the results in this game, but it’s an exciting look into his future. When he masters that shot, the rest of the game will be so much easier. The Hawks resorted to trapping him above the arc as a counter, and Barnes calmly absorbed the pressure for a pair of hook passes to Christian Koloko rolling unmarked for dunks.
Five: Barnes makes moves that leave you wanting. Barnes had it on the wing with five seconds left on the shot clock against a highly touted defender in De’Andre Hunter, who started out in perfect position for the stop. Barnes backed it out, hit him with a triple crossover to open the gap, drove into the heart of the defence, and had the strength to seal Hunter on his left side while using his right hand to bank in the shot before the shot blocker could come over. The combination of skill, strength, vision and touch on this one play is what makes Barnes unique. The only question is why doesn’t he attack like this more often because he’s a walking mismatch.
Six: Siakam heard MVP chants in his 14th, 15th and 16th trips to the line. It was just reward for yet another 30-point effort from Siakam, who also posted 12 rebounds and six assists. Siakam has clearly hit another level in his scoring, where he is able to manipulate the defence to get to his shot whenever he wants. He picks the right spots in when to go quickly, as Siakam did on a pair of sneaky baseline drives, and also when to slow down and organize the spacing of his teammates so that he can get into the paint, draw a double and pick out the open shooter. Even the shots that he’s missing are mostly good looks — with very little to do with the defender. His career-high average of 8.6 free throws per game is an indication of just how often he’s beating the defence.
Seven: O.G. Anunoby was a menace on defence, securing two blocks and six steals, including five takeaways in the first half alone. Anunoby’s length and positioning always keeps him involved in the play, but he becomes truly menacing when he can also use his strength. Hunter learned that the hard way in the second quarter as he lost the ball three times in the span of five seconds trying to work an ill-advised pick-and-roll in Anunoby’s vicinity, which ended up with Hunter being put on his behind as Anunoby picked his pocket and took it the other way for a layup.
Eight: Koloko got the spot start at centre and gave the Raptors a different dimension. The Raptors were able to be more aggressive on the perimeter because Koloko was stationed around the basket, ready to erase mistakes. A couple times Koloko was beaten by the bounce pass to the roller, but he won the matchup more often than not with his three blocks in 21 minutes. The best of the three was against Murray, who had Koloko strung out to the logo, but couldn’t beat the seven-footer in a footrace and had his layup swatted.
Nine: Gary Trent Jr. got anything he wanted in the matchup against Young. Even though he was the only guard in the rotation, the Raptors kept Trent Jr. in his usual role of being an off-ball scorer, and made a point to find him each time he had Young in isolation. Trent Jr. isn’t particularly athletic, nor is he flashy with his handle, but he knows exactly how to find his footing for a steady midrange look, and has a surprising set of floating finishes in the post to score over shot blockers.
Ten: Toronto’s win in VanVleet’s absence will become a topic of discussion just as it did last season. There are some tangible differences with VanVleet off the floor, most notably in the sheer size that the Raptors can line up with, which limits how much they need to send help. Barnes also seems to respond better when given the specific responsibility of playmaking. But it’s also unquestionable how impactful VanVleet is when he does play, as his three-point shooting, secure playmaking, and disruptiveness on defence are rare skills that most of his teammates lack. The ideal scenario is for the Raptors to become adept at playing both styles, which should then limit the need to overwork VanVleet.
