TORONTO — The halfway point of the season. A time to reflect.
Well, not that much time. The Toronto Raptors leave Tuesday afternoon for Indianapolis, where they play the Pacers Wednesday night, a game that’s kind of must-win given what comes next as they then return to host the surging Los Angeles Clippers on Friday and take off Saturday for a five-game western road trip.
Not a lot of time for anything.
But were the Raptors to reflect, they would have a lot to look back on with pride through the first 41 games of the season.
They might want to skip rewinding No. 41 though, at least the basketball part of it.
That one was over almost before it started as the Philadelphia 76ers — perhaps feeling comfortable playing their second game in as many nights at Scotiabank Arena — sucked any suspense out of the matter early.
One day after the two teams combined to shoot 13-of-63 from deep, the Sixers connected on 12 of their first 14 from three. Meanwhile, the Raptors never got the memo and picked up right where they left off when they shot 5-of-32 against Philadelphia on Sunday.
The difference is that the Raptors somehow won that game.
By halftime Monday, the Raptors were shooting 3-of-20 from three and were trailing by 29 points. The finished shooting 6-of-37. You’re not winning two games in a row that way, sorry.
The only suspense was whether Raptors legend and Sixers guard Kyle Lowry would take the floor or not for a final regular-season bow in Toronto. When the Raptors fell behind by 33 early in the third quarter, it looked like the circumstances would be right for Lowry — very much a mentor in his 20th season — to make his sixth appearance of the year and his first at Scotiabank Arena since Oct. 25, 2024.
If the game was close, he wouldn’t have left the bench. This was a game the Sixers needed to win and that’s not in Lowry’s wheelhouse anymore as he approaches his 40th birthday.
But with the game mostly out of hand in the fourth quarter — even though the Raptors had cut the lead briefly to 15 with 3:43 to play, the “We want Kyle” chants got louder. Finally, with 1:57 to play, the Raptors waved the white flag and subbed out their starters, opening the door for Lowry to take the floor.
The roar was predictably loud and undoubtedly sincere. The North Philly kid who never wanted to be a Raptor when he arrived for the 2012-13 season, was greeted as what he eventually became: a legend, a champion and the most revered player in franchise history.
So, the Raptors getting blown out 115-102 (the final score not reflective of the play for the first three quarters anyway) on Monday wasn’t all bad.
Had the game been closer, Lowry and the crowd at Scotiabank Arena wouldn’t have had their moment:
“It happened organically,” said Lowry, who got three triples up but couldn’t get one to fall. “I think tonight our team came out with extreme focus and that was part of their plan, to make sure I got that opportunity. I got some great teammates and a great coach who understands the moment. It was a good team win for us and I got the opportunity to experience one of the greatest basketball moments of my personal career.”
The Sixers’ focus was real, although it helps to have Joel Embiid (27 points, eight rebounds, four assists) and Paul George (15 points, six assists) return to the lineup on the second night of a back-to-back. And it helps even more to have emerging superstar Tyrese Maxey to drive it all. The Sixers point guard scored 18 of his 33 points in the first quarter to get his team started on the right foot, and they never missed a step.
The Raptors got Brandon Ingram back from his sprained thumb but were still without Jakob Poeltl (back) and RJ Barrett (ankle). Ingram finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists but there wasn’t too much help behind him, although rookie Collin Murray-Boyles (12 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals) continues to impress and two-way player AJ Lawson took advantage of some extended minutes to score 14 points in 17 minutes and help provide what spark the Raptors had in the second half.
The win improved Philadelphia to 22-16 while the Raptors fell to 24-17. The Raptors remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference but are only a half-game up on the fifth-place Sixers, one game behind Boston in third and 1.5 games up on Orlando, who hold the sixth and final playoff spot in the East.
The Lowry moment aside, it was an otherwise less-than-stellar performance and given that the Raptors shot 10-of-69 from three over the two games against Philly, it’s not like the Raptors are a smooth-running machine just at the moment.
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But big picture?
How can the Raptors not be pleased? After 41 games a year ago, the Raptors were 10-31 and focused only on player development and lottery balls.
So far this year?
• The Raptors are on pace for 48 wins, which would be their best total since Scottie Barnes’ rookie season in 2021-22, back when Sixers coach Nick Nurse was running the show in Toronto.
• Before Monday’s debacle, the Raptors established themselves as one of the NBA’s better defensive teams, with their sixth-best 112.1 defensive rating.
• Barnes has established himself as an all-star and likely all-NBA candidate. He was recognized as the Eastern Conference player of the week on Monday. He’s averaging 19.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game and is the only player in the NBA with at least 700 points, 300 rebounds, 200 assists, 50 blocks and 50 steals this season.
• After an early season that was interrupted by some minor injuries and a couple of illnesses, Murray-Boyles, the ninth overall pick who was the Raptors’ reward for their rebuilding efforts last seaso,n has emerged as an impact player midway through his rookie season. Prior to Monday, Murray-Boyles was averaging 8.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.4 blocks in just 27 minutes a game over his past seven games, five of them starts.
• Sandro Mamukelashvili was a little-known big with no significant record of production in 191 NBA games sprinkled across four seasons with two teams when the Raptors signed him to a modest two-year deal for $5.2 million. He’s now recognized as one of the better free agent signings of the off-season. The affable Georgian came into Monday’s game averaging 10.3 points, 4.9 rebounds per game on career-best efficiency.
“Obviously, we’re making significant strides,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. “Players individually are getting better. There is a lot of reason for us to look and be satisfied with what we have achieved. But that doesn’t change the fact we have to go another (41) games, and every night is a hard match-up for us and this is the best league in the world. So we have to be constantly hungry and humble at the same time.
There are some areas of concern, among them:
• The offence in general (the Raptors’ offensive rating is 19th and sliding) but in particular their three-point shooting. After their clang-fest against the Sixers the Raptors are tied for last in three-point percentage with no obvious relief in sight.
• And while the Raptors can take some encouragement that they are 14-6 in ‘clutch games’ where the score is within five with five minutes to play, it’s a tough way to live. It’s easy to imagine some regression there. What will the Raptors’ second-half record look like if some of the fluky element that comes with playing close games — being on the winning end of three straight coach’s challenges in the final minute of regulation in their overtime win over Philadelphia on Sunday, for example — flip against them?
• And what if Poeltl’s back issues don’t clear up? He missed his 11th straight game Monday and has only played six minutes since Dec. 15. He’s the only big the Raptors have and in that sense irreplaceable.
It’s been a wonderful first half, at least when measured against expectations. And even if the 41st game was not representative of the 40 that came before, having Lowry take his (likely) final turn at Scotiabank Arena more than made up for it.
But it will take all the Raptors have and then some to keep the momentum going as the hill gets steeper in the second half. It would be a shame if this were the high point.
