Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors‘ 100-88 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.
One: The Raptors led from start to finish in a dominant showing against a fellow rising team in the East. Coach Nick Nurse shared the good news pre-game, announcing that Pascal Siakam (groin) and Scottie Barnes (knee) were fit to return, but the real surprise was that Barnes and Gary Trent Jr. would come off the bench. It remains to be seen if the switch was a temporary arrangement to help limit Siakam’s minutes upon return, or if Nurse genuinely wants to shuffle his lineup, but the results were good. Toronto’s defense was airtight while Cleveland couldn’t buy a bucket from three, and the road-weary Cavaliers ended up emptying their bench with six minutes left in the fourth.
Two: Siakam picked up right where he left off in his return. Within the opening two minutes, Siakam had already beaten his man twice in the paint with his signature spin move, while also drawing a foul by pushing the break. He looked sharp and confident the whole way through, displaying sharp footwork and soft touch on his fadeaway jumpers, while also posing the threat of getting to the paint. Cleveland didn’t have a natural matchup for Siakam, but that’s the case for most teams. Siakam always had the height to separate and shoot over the top of Issac Okoro, and he was able to outmuscle and out-quick Dean Wade. Evan Mobley was the only one to give Siakam any pause, but the Cavaliers also needed Mobley as a help defender in the paint. With Siakam in the lineup, the offense was just so much easier as the Raptors could always feed Siakam and allow him to break down his matchup, and play from there. Barnes’ assessment of Siakam’s return was simply: “Wow.”
Three: Siakam was also able to contribute to the team game in his return. His defensive energy was high throughout despite his three-week absence, including forcing star guard Darius Garland into an air all jumper in the fourth quarter. Siakam was also able to control the glass, snagging 11 rebounds in 30 minutes, which helped the Raptors get out on the break. Siakam also made the right passes in both the halfcourt and in transition, whether it was finding shooters on kickouts or sliding the pass to his bigs down low when he drew two defenders. The prettiest play of the night was when Siakam caught a 40-foot hit-ahead from Fred VanVleet, and before landing, redirected it to O.G. Anunoby filling the lane for a dunk.
Four: Anunoby continued his strong play and filled in as a secondary star beside Siakam. The return of creators Siakam and Barnes allowed Anunoby to return to a more efficient role of finishing sequences on catch-and-shoot threes and cuts to the hoop, as compared to the bullyball rushes where Anunoby had to be the main driver of the team. This allowed Anunoby to have more energy to make jumpers, including four threes and a pair of smooth midrange baskets off the dribble. More importantly, Anunoby was also able to lock down on defense, holding a 30-point scorer in Donovan Mitchell to just eight points and two assists, which snapped a 121-game streak of double-digit outings for the three-time All-Star. In addition to clamping Mitchell, Anunoby also made a handful of timely help rotations for blocks and steals to put the Raptors on the break.
Five: Barnes looked comfortable off the bench and downplayed the effects of his knee injury, which he described as the normal bumps and bruises of the season. Barnes with the second unit gave the team a backup point guard to spell Fred VanVleet, and he did well to run the offense. Barnes played within himself and took what came to him, whether it was a catch-and-shoot three, a midrange pull-up when his man sagged, or driving to the basket against mismatches. He also made a number of nice reads to find Anunoby, Trent Jr. and VanVleet for threes. Despite the success here, Barnes should return to the starting lineup soon when he and Siakam are fully up to speed. He does all the same things in a starting capacity.
Six: Trent Jr. was also sharp in his role off the bench. As always, he hunted for his shot whenever possible and was relatively efficient, knocking down a sidestep three and being fouled on another, to go along with a strip and lob to Barnes as his main highlights. Trent Jr. isn’t your typical sixth-man-type of player, as he doesn’t actually create all that efficiently for himself and almost never breaks down the defense to set up teammates, but the Raptors have enough main creators on the floor at all times that he doesn’t ever need to run the show. If he shows that he can produce both starting or coming off the bench, there is both logic and evidence supporting a swap to bring in more size and more playmaking in place of Trent Jr., who had been struggling of late.
Seven: Young is one possible option to start. He is a clear connector for the team with his passing, and he doesn’t ever take a shot out of turn, which allows other players to feature and dictate play. Young also gives VanVleet a pick-and-rolls partner, and he is the most reliable finisher at center. This allows Siakam to have an easier time with his interior assists when he inevitably draws two on his drives. The downside is that he doesn’t have the size to handle most fives, doesn’t offer any shot blocking and teams target him on defense. He makes up some of the gaps by being savvy, but Cleveland did notably hunt for him.
Eight: Christian Koloko and Khem Birch are even more imperfect candidates for the starting spot. Koloko is too unreliable at the moment because he continues to foul everything in sight, and his flimsy finishing at the basket leaves too many points wasted. Birch is a good screen setter and offers more bulk, but is the weakest defender of the bunch and too shy to even attempt to finish his chances at the basket. If the Raptors really intend to swap out Trent Jr. and balance the lineup, they should explore a trade for a centre who doesn’t need the ball, rebounds with energy, and who can defend.
Nine: Chris Boucher struggled the most to the change in lineups. Boucher is typically the first man off the bench and usually gets extended runs to play his game, but he was the fourth player off the bench and never quite found his footing. He was chasing the game rather than finding his spots, and that usually manifests in him making familiar mistakes, such as biting on shot fakes and being blocked at the rim. Nurse rode out Boucher’s struggles in the fourth quarter despite the mistakes, but it’s also notable that none of his other centers were particularly productive.
Ten: Cleveland is definitely a threat in the East, but they have a glaring weakness at small forward. Okoro has played better of late though there’s no sugarcoating his 1-for-11 shooting, which only emboldened the Raptors to ignore him on offense in favour of helping elsewhere. Cedi Osman is fine in his role off the bench, but he doesn’t offer much defensively aside from embellishing contact, and Wade is more of a power forward than a perimeter stopper. The East is dominated by wing scorers such as Siakam, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Jimmy Butler, and the Cavaliers will lose this matchup against all the major contenders.
