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The Raptors Have Lost Their Swagger. Can They Get It Back? – The Ringer

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Toronto is off to the NBA’s most disappointing start and it seems the rest of the league has figured out its All-Star forward. What can Nick Nurse do to right the ship?

Getty Images/Ringer illustration

It’s getting late early for the Raptors, who dropped to 1-5 with a blowout loss to the Celtics on Monday. Toronto has been the most disappointing team in the NBA so far. Its biggest problem has been the regression of Pascal Siakam, who’s coming off the first All-Star season of his career. His play began to dip in the bubble and has gotten worse since then. It has gone beyond just a slump at this point. The league has adjusted to Siakam, 2019’s Most Improved Player, and now he has to figure out how to adjust back. The Raptors’ season depends on it.

Siakam scored a season-high 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting on Monday, but the double-digit defeat still revealed many of the issues that have plagued him. He hasn’t been the same player since his disappointing performance in the Raptors’ second-round loss to the Celtics last postseason. Boston has the personnel to defend him, with multiple long and athletic wings who can suffocate him on the perimeter and still contest his shot once he gets inside. After seeing Jaylen Brown shut Siakam down in the playoffs, the rest of the NBA has started putting smaller defenders on Toronto’s 6-foot-9 forward. The result has been a significant drop in points (from 22.9 to 17.6 per game) and field goal percentage (45.3 to 40.7) from last season.

The difference is striking when you compare the lists of his most frequent defenders from this season to last. The latter features a lot of 6-foot-10 and taller players (Jonathan Isaac, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Al Horford, and Tristan Thompson) while the former is mostly players players 6-foot-7 and shorter (Rudy Gay, Keldon Johnson, Josh Hart, and Brown). Defenses have figured out that they don’t need to match up with Siakam’s size. The key is matching up with his speed.

The Celtics game was a perfect example of what happens when that plays out. The Raptors raced out to a 22-10 start largely because Boston started two traditional big men in Daniel Theis and Thompson. Siakam was cross-switched on defense multiple times with Thompson, who lost him on the perimeter and allowed him to get free for two open 3s. But things fell apart once the Celtics downsized and started playing Brown, Jayson Tatum, or Semi Ojeleye at the 4. There’s no obvious way for Siakam to attack those types of defenders. Beating them off the dribble requires a level of precision and touch that he doesn’t have, and he’s not a great post scorer:

Siakam is at his best when he can attack in space and use his combination of size and speed to get to the rim. He has always been great in transition. But he hasn’t gotten as many of those opportunities this season. Not only is he dealing with different types of defenders, he’s playing in different types of lineups. He was paired with a platoon of stretch 5s last season in Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka. That was the best of both worlds: The Raptors had one of the biggest frontcourts in the NBA while still possessing elite floor spacing. Their entire rotation was 3-and-D players, allowing them to punch above their weight despite losing Kawhi Leonard.

That is no longer the case, with Gasol and Ibaka replaced by Aron Baynes and Chris Boucher. Baynes has the worst net rating of any player in their rotation (minus-13.2 in 122 minutes) besides Siakam. He’s shooting 20 percent from 3 on 2.5 attempts per game this season, and doesn’t have the size or athleticism to be a threat at the rim. He needs to regain the shooting stroke he found in Phoenix last season. There have been too many sequences like this, in which the Celtics collapsed on Siakam and Baynes couldn’t punish them for it:

Boucher has given the Raptors some offensive pop, averaging 12.7 points per game on 51.9 percent shooting and 33.3 percent from 3 on 3.0 attempts. The problem is that he’s so slight (6-foot-9 and 200 pounds) that he gives them the defensive and rebounding issues of a smaller team without the offensive benefits of having another ball handler and playmaker on the floor. Toronto coach Nick Nurse dusted off journeyman center Alex Len for nine minutes on Monday, but that didn’t work, either.

Process of elimination leads to one remaining option: smaller lineups with Siakam and OG Anunoby at the 4 and 5. Nurse, for all his flexibility as a coach, has never liked playing that small. He waited until the Raptors were facing elimination in Game 6 against the Celtics before he tried it. But that adjustment was the key to forcing Game 7. Siakam (6-foot-9 and 230 pounds) and Anunoby (6-foot-7 and 232 pounds) could match up with Boston’s undersized centers on defense, and shifting them up a position would make them more dangerous on offense.

Toronto would be giving up a lot of size in that scenario, but that adjustment might jump-start an offense that is no. 28 in the NBA right now. Both Siakam and Anunoby are relatively limited scorers who need the game simplified as much as possible. They need to play in more space, with more shooting and playmaking around them. It’s the one move Nurse has left up his sleeve. He has played those lineups only 12 minutes this season, with six of those coming in the fourth quarter against Boston.

To be fair, there are clear downsides. Toronto doesn’t have much perimeter size to make up for going smaller up front. They start two point guards 6-foot-1 or shorter in Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, and would be choosing between two undersized shooting guards in Norman Powell and Terence Davis at the 3, or the offensively limited Stanley Johnson (6-foot-6). Davis, who has not played much after an offseason arrest for assault, would have to seize a bigger role. He had his best game of the season against the Celtics—13 points on 4-of-8 shooting and three assists—with much of that production coming when the Raptors went small in the fourth.

But Toronto still only played Boston even in those minutes. The Raptors’ biggest problem was rebounding, with Robert Williams III repeatedly punishing their lack of size on the offensive glass:

After the game, Lowry was blunt about the Raptors’ issues. “We just need to get a little bit grittier, get a little bit tougher and a little bit nastier, and have a little bit of a swagger to us. Right now we have no swagger to us. We have nothing. There’s nothing to us. Teams are looking at us like, ‘All right, let’s go eat.’”

Nurse has to try something different. Going small won’t fix all their problems, but it looks like the best idea in a bad set of options. The Raptors’ schedule won’t get much easier over the next month. They will need more offense from Siakam, even if it comes at the expense of their defense. Defenses have changed how they guard him from last season. He no longer has the same matchup advantages, or the offensive structure that allowed him to thrive. Toronto needs to force the issue by downsizing and making defenses adjust to them.

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Whitecaps, Timbers to face off in play-in match in Portland

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VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps will begin their post-season campaign with a play-in game against the Timbers in Portland on Wednesday.

The ‘Caps (13-13-8) ended the regular season with a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday and finished eighth in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference standings.

The eighth and ninth spots from each conference meet in a play-in game this week, with the winner going on to face the No. 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs.

Each eighth-place team was set to host the play-in game, but Vancouver announced Friday that its home stadium, B.C. Place, is not available, so the club will cede home-field advantage to Portland (12-11-11), the ninth-place team.

The ‘Caps and Timbers split their three-game series during regular-season play, with each side taking a win, a loss and a draw.

The first round of the MLS playoffs is set to begin next weekend.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.

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Real Salt Lake beats visiting Whitecaps 2-1 to set single-season club record for points

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SANDY, Utah (AP) — Diego Luna scored a tying goal in the 73rd minute and Real Salt Lake added another on an own goal for a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night to set a single-season club record for points.

Real Salt Lake (16-7-11) secured the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference and will face Minnesota in the first round of the Major League Soccer playoffs. RSL reached 59 points this season, topping the 2012 team with 57.

Vancouver (13-13-8) will play the Portland Timbers on Wednesday in a wild-card game for a chance to play top-seeded LAFC.

Luna settled a long cross from Braian Ojeda before taking four touches to slot home a shot inside the far post for his eighth goal of the season.

RSL went ahead in the 83rd when Vancouver goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer misplayed a lofted ball that rolled into the back of the net.

Vancouver midfielder Ryan Gauld opened the scoring in the 58th to become the first player in club history to produce multiple seasons with at least 10 goals and 10 assists.

AP MLS:

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Juan Soto’s 3-run homer in 10th sends Yankees past Guardians 5-2 and into World Series for 41st time

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Juan Soto’s arrival last winter was supposed to be that move that pushed the New York Yankees back to the top.

They’re one step away.

Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and the Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — and first in 15 years — by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Saturday night.

Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.

Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade from San Diego in December, pushed the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing.

This was why he came, for this moment and for so many more.

“We’re right where we belong,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who pulled off the deal for Soto.

The Yankees will try to win their 28th title against either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 6 of the NL Championship Series is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

In the third consecutive tight game in three nights at Progressive Field, Austin Wells walked with one out in the 10th and Alex Verdugo followed with a grounder to Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez, whose soft toss to the bag was dropped by rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio for an error.

Hunter Gaddis struck out Gleyber Torres and had Soto in a 1-2 count before New York’s stylish outfielder sent a shot over the wall in center. Soto danced down the first-base line and paused to celebrate with his teammates before circling the bases.

“I was just saying to myself, `You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything,’” said Soto, who moved alongside his manager, Aaron Boone, as the only New York players to homer in an extra-inning, series-clinching win.

Luke Weaver got the final three outs with Lane Thomas flying out for the last one, which was caught by Soto.

“We get to play for a world championship,” Boone said. “That’s pretty sweet.”

The 25-year-old Soto is eligible for free agency this winter, and Yankees fans chanted “Re-sign Soto!” during the postgame festivities. He’s expected to get a contract upwards of $600 million, and his heroics in Game 5 may have raised his price.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer and was named ALCS MVP as the Yankees took care of the Guardians in five games. It wasn’t easy.

New York won the first two at Yankee Stadium without much fanfare or any major drama. However, it was a different story in Cleveland as all three games at Progressive Field were nail-biters.

The Guardians rallied to win Game 3 on two, two-run homers in their last two at-bats, and the Yankees held on to win Game 4 after blowing a four-run lead.

“This was a rollercoaster and we were able to just keep punching back,” Stanton said. “We know there’s much more work to do and it’s only uphill from here and we got to get it done.”

Cleveland just didn’t have enough and a surprising season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt ended just short of a World Series. The franchise remains without a title since 1948, baseball’s current longest drought.

“There’s only one team that gets to win the last game of the year, and unfortunately it’s not going to be us,” Vogt said. “But we accomplished a lot as a group. We got better. We worked extremely hard. I couldn’t be more proud of this group. We just didn’t get quite as far as we wanted to.”

The Yankees are back in the World Series, back where their fans expect them to be every year.

The club’s 82-80, fourth-place finish in the AL East last season led to some “soul searching as an organization” during the winter, according to Boone, who has been widely criticized but is one of just three managers to take New York to playoffs in six of his first seven seasons.

While the team’s core stayed mostly intact, getting Soto in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 7 — New York sent five players to San Diego for the three-time All-Star — accelerated the team returning to title contender.

“That was a good day,” Boone said with a laugh before the game.

Stanton’s 446-foot rocket into the left-field bleachers tied it at 2 in the sixth and chased Tanner Bibee, who had struck out New York’s dangerous DH in his first two at-bats and held the Yankees scoreless for the first five innings.

It was Stanton’s fourth homer in this series — his third in three days — and his 16th in the postseason, moving him into fourth place on the club’s career list behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).

Before the game, Boone was asked what makes Stanton so good.

“He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all,” Boone said. “So there’s the physical nature of what he does that’s different than just about everyone in the world.”

But Boone went on to compliment Stanton’s discipline at the plate, “his approach, his process, how he studies guys.”

“There’s something that he does when he gets familiarity with people on top of being very physically gifted,” Boone said.

The Guardians took a 2-0 lead in the fifth off Carlos Rodón on Steven Kwan’s RBI single with two outs. But Cleveland missed a big chance for more, leaving the bases loaded when Lane Thomas grounded out on the first pitch to him from Mark Leiter Jr.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: LHP Nestor Cortes (elbow strain) had another successful live batting practice session. The reliever remains on track to join the Yankees on their World Series roster. Boone said Cortes would throw again early next week. Cortes went 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts.

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