SACRAMENTO — The Toronto Raptors aren’t without their issues. They’re young. They don’t shoot the ball very well and they don’t have much in the way of high-end NBA big men.
Meaningful depth has yet to materialize on even a semi-consistent basis.
There are things that can be done to mitigate some of those challenges but none of them can outweigh against one unassailable fact: if Pascal Siakam doesn’t play well and do it regularly, none of it really matters.
It’s just NBA math: there are virtually no rosters deep enough to thrive consistently without their highest-paid player contributing significantly.
Siakam wasn’t exactly invisible in the first five games he had played since he returned from off-season shoulder surgery. He’s had some very nice outings offensively — in losses to Detroit and Portland earlier this week he averaged 22.5 points, nine rebounds and 6.5 assists on 55 per cent shooting. But he seemed heavy-legged — at best — defensively. Too many times he was late to rotate or in the wrong spot or simply not energized enough when he was there as he got turnstiled more than once. Charitably, getting into the kind of shape required to play both ends for 36-plus NBA minutes or more isn’t an overnight thing.
But in the Raptors’ loss to the Utah Jazz on Thursday, Siakam was highly visible for how poorly he played: 2-of-14 shooting, and four turnovers, though reigning defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert likely had something to do with that. But overall he seemed a step slow or worse in every rotation and every transition from offence to defence or vice versa. Given it was Toronto’s first game without leading scorer OG Anunoby — likely to be out of a couple of weeks with a hip pointer — the timing couldn’t have been worse.
Siakam looked shaky enough that I wondered if he might have been under the weather.
“It’s tough,” he said. “Like last game I felt like I was running in mud the whole game. It feels like it’s been 30 games but it’s only like game six or something for me? So it’s tough. And I knew that coming in and again it’s just waking up every day, continuing to just push forward, knowing that it’s going to be tough. But once I get that rhythm and my legs under me I know what I can do on the floor and I think I have to focus on that and make sure that my head is straight, kinda like tunnel vision, just looking one way and continuing just to go forward.”
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He made a big step on Friday night.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse talked with Siakam before the game and offered some simple advice: “My take on him right now is sometimes you have a stinker, man,” said Nurse. “It’s why they made back-to-backs. Flush that one down and let’s go out and get a performance like you know you can play and go after it tonight.”
The Raptors limped into Sacramento having lost six of seven and three straight. Fortunately, the Kings were wobbling as well, having lost five of six themselves, with head coach Luke Walton widely expected to be fired sooner rather than later.
Simply put: the Raptors needed a win, Siakam needed a good game and Sacramento was a good place to reach both goals.
Siakam did his part, and then some as the Raptors (8-9) cruised to a welcome 108-89 blowout win in a game Toronto led by as much as 30 at one point in the second half.
Siakam had already helped the Raptors off to a strong start with a strong first quarter to set the tone, but after halftime, he went for blood, perhaps inspired by the bandage he had to wear after getting his head cut late in the second quarter.
Siakam hit a 17-footer and then stroked a pair of deep threes before the half was two minutes old. Suddenly the Raptors were up by 26 and the blowout was on. Siakam added another trip to the line and another pair of jumpers and suddenly he had 28 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-3 from deep and 7-of-8 from the line. He finished with a season-high 32 points on just 12 shots.
That’s how quickly a really poor game can be put in the rear-view mirror. If you’re one of the key members of an NBA team and paid accordingly, it’s part of the job description.
“I think I always say I’m super tough on myself just because i know the amount of work I put in and sometimes I can be over-analyzing things and I think over the years just learning, understanding, just talking to guys that have been doing it at a high level, one of the things that they always say is just that short memory [is key],” said Siakam. “Just stay focused, continue to move forward, and just flush it out.”
It wasn’t just his shooting and scoring, Siakam looked bouncier when he picked up his man just over half. He was quick out in transition. He looked like himself again.
“I think for me coming in today i just wanted to focus on defence,” he said. “I just wanted to have my presence felt on defence. Pressuring the ball and doing things like that. … I think that’s something I have to get better at and I have to bring that intensity every single night so everyone can follow.”
Siakam got Toronto started, but not without some hiccups. He had two turnovers on his first two touches and you had to wonder if it was going to be one of those nights. Again.
But Siakam stepped into a three at the top of the circle; drove the lane and got fouled and seemed to settle down from there. He put the ball on the floor aggressively but was able to adjust when he ran into traffic in the paint and finish with a nice mix of floaters and leaners. He took some easy mid-range jumpers when they were there. Next thing you know Siakam had 13 first-quarter points on four shots and four free throws and the Raptors were up 30-27.
One of the problems the Raptors have — and why Siakam turning his game around is so imperative — is that when Fred VanVleet is off the floor, they struggle mightily. According to cleaningtheglass.com the Raptors score 17.4 points more per 100 possessions when VanVleet plays than when he sits. Since he can’t play 48 minutes a night, that’s a problem.
“We’ve got outplayed by the second units a couple games in a row,” said Nurse. “My first answer to that is we need our guys to play better, the guys we’re giving chances to, because they can play better. Our challenge as coaches is to give them confidence to play better …”
That came to pass as well. With VanVleet sitting the first four minutes of the second quarter the Raptors extended their lead with Precious Achiuwa — back from his shoulder injury — Svi Mykhailiuk and Dalano Banton all chipping in, and Gary Trent Jr. providing the offensive fulcrum
VanVleet never really got on track offensively, but for once he didn’t need to. Trent Jr. continued his red-hot shooting as he scored 15 points in the second quarter on 5-of-9 shooting and 3-of-6 from deep as Toronto took a 63-45 lead into the third quarter. Trent Jr. finished with 23 points and hit five threes for the second straight game.
It made for the rarest of Raptors wins: one in which VanVleet wasn’t at his best. Perhaps feeling the effects of 35 hard minutes at altitude in Utah on Thursday night, VanVleet made an uncharacteristic seven turnovers to offset his 13 points and six assists. But VanVleet being VanVleet, he still found a way to be one the Raptors’ leaders in plus/minus at +23.
In addition to Siakam finding some rhythm, Trent’s fine play and some bench contributions, the other encouraging sign was the Raptors’ overall defensive effort. They’ve been last in the NBA in defence over the past seven games and had let their last three opponents shoot 54 per cent, 56 per cent and 55 per cent from the floor, respectively.
The Kings might have represented a soft case but the Raptors did give up 127 points to the lowly Detroit Pistons last Saturday, so it’s not like Toronto can’t give it up to a shaky opponent.
In any case, Toronto was better than it has been, holding Sacramento to 38.1 per cent shooting and forcing 18 turnovers.
Improved defence, some strong bench play and a revitalized Siakam? The Raptors couldn’t hope for much more, and the timing is perfect as they head to San Francisco to play the 14-2 Golden State Warriors on Sunday night.
