Sometimes, a loss is a miserable situation that gets called a learning experience to save face. But watching this game against the Lakers, I was, at times, genuinely heartened by the product that I saw on the floor. The result? Less heartening, that is for sure, but there’s a lot to learn from this November 1st 131-125 game.
For one: the Raptors seemed willing to shoot threes, and make up for any inaccuracy with their rebounding and interior presence. And while they weren’t always making them, it was
nice to see, and helped them get back into the game, especially with Luka Dončić on the bench.
Poetry in motion
With the Magic-man out, the Raptors looked not only in control, but confident, even without Jakob Poeltl on the floor. Poeltl’s absence meant a start from Trayce Jackson-Davis, who, despite sharing the job with Collin Murray-Boyles, looked good on the floor there in some limited minutes. The Bench Mob 2.0 came in during garbage time that didn’t feel quite like garbage time: the Lakers put their starters back in during a two possession game, giving the reserves some valuable experience, punctuated by a Jamison Battle three, and an Allen Graves steal.
Both Darko Rajaković and Scottie Barnes got technical fouls tonight, a reality that showcases a Raptors team willing to fight for its position. While less than ideal in a big matchup, getting some of this energy out early helps to set the tone for the season. Speaking of that-
Scottie Barnes still looks fantastic, and had a great offensive game, posting stats of 29-6-5 along with two steals. He got 13 free throw attempts, drawing a lot of contact and getting the foul calls that his driving would warrant, even though he only made seven of those shots: less than ideal. Still, the player he is developing into is absolutely fantastic, capable of carrying the responsibility of a number-one offensive option, even though he’s perhaps better suited to the place of a secondary or tertiary scorer.
RJ Barrett looked great, as usual, with a hyper-efficient 22 point night, that was marred only by the complete lack of free throws attempted. Adding on three steals to his statline, RJ looked impactful, and his big three to get the deficit back to single digits was a highlight of the night for the Raps.
Not so pretty prose
However, efficiency was a major, major issue for the Raptors tonight. They shot 43% from the floor and 31% from three, which, while an attempted increase in volume explains, does not necessarily translate to much meaningful production for the Raptors. The Raptors’ offence without Kawhi is supported in part around Scottie and RJ creating interior pressure, which should ideally create space for shooters like Immanuel Quickley or Ja’Kobe Walter, but tonight, the shots just weren’t falling, especially from IQ, who went 3/11 from outside.
The Lakers, on the other hand, were shooting 60% from three at the half, which begs the question: were the Raptors unlucky two nights in a row, or does there need to be more effort at defence on the perimeter?
Likely as not, it’s a bit of both.
Very similarly to both of the Raptors’ previous losses, the major issue came at the hands of volume scoring guards as opposed to big men, despite the oft-discussed issues that the Raptors have had at centre. Luka Dončić had 45 points tonight, and sometimes, when a scorer like Luka gets hot, there is no defence anywhere on heaven or Earth than can stop him from getting the ball to the cup. He shot 66% from three and went 100% from the charity stripe. This is very similar to what happened with Desmond Bane in the second Orlando game.
While the three remains a potent weapon against anyone, it seems that the Raptors are particularly susceptible to it. Sure, you shoot a dinosaur with a rifle and it falls over, but Toronto needs to teach its predators how to strap on bulletproof vests. The Raptors are a great defensive team, but this is a weakness that has now cropped up twice as a pattern, and needs to be eliminated before it becomes the Raptors’ Achilles heel. This is, of course, the Raptors playing without Kawhi Leonard, which means that they’ve lost arguably their best offensive player, and some very important perimeter D.
Tonight was also a game without Jakob Poeltl, meaning that the Raps were playing without two of their most important pieces. Poeltl was out with shoulder bursitis, which the Cleveland Clinic notes varies in severity and frequency. His injury circumstances are not yet clear. This situation is even more distressing when considering the fact that both Poeltl and Leonard are notorious for missing time. If this is how the Raptors will perform regularly under such circumstances, there is indeed some serious concern here for the functioning of the team.
Do they predict the future out on the West Coast?
Should the LA game be moment of total panic and abandon for the Raptors and their fans? No. Luka Dončić is one of the best scorers in the world, and without two starters, the Raptors were always going to be fighting an uphill battle to keep up tonight.
The Raptors have not even played ten games yet and should not be written off as mere pretenders, but, this series may give the indication that the Raptors playing their reserves as starters may put them firmly in the place they were last year: solid enough to beat the bad teams, and not great enough to beat the good ones.
Leonard is set to be evaluated and the degree to which his injury will keep him off the floor will become clearer in the upcoming week. His health for the season and production upon returning will be the yardstick by which this season’s success will be measured. Until then, the Raptors have another LA matchup to look forward to, this time, against a team they are well acquainted with. The… Los Angeles Clippers.
