The Toronto Raptors are far from a finished product.
All season long, they’ve battled injuries, inconsistencies and just recently have added a new face to their starting lineup — Jakob Poeltl — for another new wrinkle that needs smoothing.
And now they’re battling for a spot on the NBA’s play-in tournament – or maybe an outside shot at a playoff spot with a dwindling number of games to work with.
So there’s plenty to be done, but as of Wednesday morning the Raptors are officially on vacation, scattered to all parts to get some sun on their bones during the all-star break — with the exception of Pascal Siakam, who was looking forward to a rest but will have to make do with a trip to Salt Lake City to represent Toronto in his second All-Star Game.
So even if, say, Poeltl wanted to do a little homework during the break to catch up, well, that’s not happening.
“I’m not sure he’s going to be showing up at the OVO [Wednesday morning],” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse. “And if he is, who’s going to be playing with him? Probably a little tough to use the break to settle in. But he’s s settling in pretty good, he’s gonna be fine.”
True words.
If the reason for the Raptors’ decision to be buyers at the trade deadline was to see what their roster — filled with interesting players who may or may not fit, many of whom will require a significant financial commitment this summer or next — would look like with the support of a proper centre, the logic of it all was evident Tuesday night. Toronto posted an impressive 123-113 win over the visiting Orlando Magic, who have been a plus-.500 team since smacking the Raptors in consecutive games in Florida in early December.
The Raptors didn’t have Poeltl then and the losses to the Magic, who were 6-20 at the time, sent Toronto into a long tailspin they’re just coming out of now.
The win Tuesday improved the Raptors’ record to 28-31, the closest they’ve been to the .500 mark since their losing trip to Orlando. They’ll go into the break in ninth place in the East. The Magic slipped to 24-35.
Poeltl, who has looked more comfortable in each of his three games since coming over from the San Antonio Spurs at the trade deadline, finished with 30 points on 15-of-17 shooting, nine rebounds, and five blocked shots in 37 minutes.
Poeltl was the fulcrum of a complete team as he served as both a release valve offensively and roving last line of defence at the other end, blocking shots, helping plug gaps and finishing possessions off with rebounds.
Fred VanVleet enjoyed having his old friend on the floor as the Raptors point guard consistently found Poeltl in the paint for scores and finished with a season-high 15 assists to go along with 10 points. Since Poeltl takes up so little oxygen offensively – all of his baskets came from offensive rebounds or passes received in the paint — there was plenty to go around.
Siakam finished with 26 points and six assists and seven Raptors scored in double figures as Toronto shot 60 per cent from the floor, overcoming their 18 turnovers while playing without starters Gary Trent Jr. (calf) and O.G. Anunoby (wrist).
The Magic played well, shooting 51 per cent from the floor and 41 per cent from deep. Orlando got 26 points from Wendell Carter Jr. and 24 points off the bench from Jalen Suggs, but the Magic didn’t have enough to contend with the Raptors’ inside and outside threats.
Poeltl was excellent in the early going, and the impact he can have as his familiarity grows with his new surroundings is obvious. He brings a package of abilities offensively and defensively that the Raptors didn’t have previously, and they’re useful.
Turns out having a big dude who can set screens, roll to the rim, catch and finish on one end while deterring opponents in the paint at the other is a good way to play basketball. There were plenty of examples.
Early in the game, he scored after the Magic switched point guard Markelle Fultz on to him as the big Austrian centre just walked Fultz to the block, caught a pass and turned into the lane, punishing the Magic with his size. As Orlando worked hard to force the ball out of VanVleet’s hands early, it often found Poeltl at the top of the key on the short roll from where he could distribute the ball — as he did to a cutting Precious Achiuwa for a dunk and one of Poeltl’s two first-half assists.
But mostly he was just a safe pair of hands — like when he found a soft spot in the defence and finished after VanVleet spied him out of another trap. In the second quarter, he grabbed an offensive rebound, fired it out to Scottie Barnes against a scrambled defence and got out of the way when the second-year forward came down the lane for a dunk.
Defensively, Poeltl showed his versatility, sliding over to deny a lay-up by Magic rookie Paolo Banchero and then being fast enough down the floor to finish a lay-up of his own for his 14th first-half point and the ninth of VanVleet’s 11 first-half assists.
The Raptors played excellent basketball is the first half, but still trailed 70-65 to start the third quarter after leading 34-27 after the first 12 minutes. The difference was eight Raptors turnovers in the quarter that led to 13 Magic points — part of a 43-point onslaught by the visitors.
Leading the way for the Magic was Suggs, drafted fifth overall last season, one spot behind Barnes, who was rookie of the year. Suggs has had some significant injuries to battle through, but the Magic remain high on him, raving about his defence and — as he showed while scoring 14 of his 19 first-half points in the second quarter — his offence is coming.
The Raptors got back on track in the second half as an 18-5 run to start the third quarter was sparked by a VanVleet three and capped by yet another Poeltl lay-up following an offensive rebound put Toronto up by eight on their way to a 94-89 lead to start the fourth quarter.
In what was a wide-open but well-played game, the Raptors were the first team able to gain an advantage defensively and Poeltl was a big reason why as he clocked five blocked shots in the fourth quarter alone.
The win means the Raptors can go into the break with a smile and something to look forward to for the season’s stretch run.
“It’s a good time for us. You guys have been here every day and stuff and we have had a pretty work intensive last six weeks and I think guys need a breather,” said Nurse, who was back on the job after missing a couple of days with a personal matter.
“We’ve just been trying to polish and fix and rebuild and build a foundation and all those things and that takes work, that takes practice time, that takes a lot of things. Yeah, I think it’s probably a decent time for us to have a little breath or two of fresh air and come back and take a run at these last 20-plus games.”
As a visit from the Magic demonstrates – and down-to-the-wire games against Utah and Detroit in the past few days emphasized — it’s been a grinding stretch for the Raptors and for most teams that aren’t either completely dedicated to tanking for lottery position or the few that are comfortably floating above the fray, virtually assured of a home seed in the playoffs. That leaves about 20 teams, give or take, that are fighting for position on any given night, the Raptors firmly among them. It makes for a lot of tough nights, win or lose.
“Especially in the East, all of the teams have a lot of firepower, all the way through,” said Nurse “You play this team and say they’ve got however many wins and are whatever in the conference, and you’re missing a couple starters — all of a sudden, you might as well forget [their record]. There are some teams that are not as good as their record and not as bad as their record, too, because there are a lot of teams that have had a lot of things happen … you’ve kind of got to sit here and say, for us, ‘Hang in here, keep playing,’ and it’s gonna become a bit of an attrition game and who has it at the right time.”
The Raptors will have 23 games left to figure it all out when they come back from the all-star break. They’ll need some fresh legs and clear heads, but at least they know they have a centre.
