TORONTO – The time for sugar-coating, or even using the old “it’s still early” caveat, to justify the Toronto Raptors’ abysmal start to the season has passed.
Even if they haven’t reached the point of full-on panic, the level of concern is very real, and it’s rising fast. A 1-5 record, capped off by the team’s most worrisome loss to date, will do that.
“This is probably unchartered territory for most of us,” said Fred VanVleet – the lone bright spot in Monday’s embarrassing 126-114 defeat at the hands of the Boston Celtics team that knocked Toronto out of the playoffs four months ago. “Just speaking for myself, I’ve never been a part of something like this.”
The final score was flattering considering how most of the evening played out. For the sixth time in six games, the Raptors went up by double digits in the first half, and for the fifth time to open the young season, they squandered that lead and went on to lose. This one cut the deepest.
It’s hard to overstate just how important this game was to them. It was a chance to alleviate some of the tension that’s been building and pick up a much-needed signature win against a rival team, ahead of a tough stretch of the schedule. Instead, it served as a reminder – there’s no quick or easy fix.
“It’s a fine line between being good and bad,” said Kyle Lowry, who was asked what he’s learned about this team over the past couple weeks. “There are things that have to be adjusted in the way we play and how we think. It’s about playing basketball harder and wanting to win.”
The loss highlighted many of the Raptors’ deficiencies.
Their unimaginative and streaky offence continues to result in lengthy scoring droughts, like the one that sparked Boston’s 38-14 second-quarter run, which turned the game. Their defence continues to show flashes but isn’t anywhere close to where they want and need it to be – the Celtics shot 52 per cent from three-point range and got 40 points from all-star forward Jayson Tatum.
Without Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, they’re still searching for answers in the front court (starting centre Aron Baynes was benched in the second half) and on the boards (they were out-rebounded 56-37). They’ve had to rely on the two point guards, Lowry and VanVleet (who combined to score 53 points) to carry the load, while Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby remain quiet, and Norman Powell and the bench (who were out-scored 60-29) continue to struggle.
Then there was their lack of fight – another alarming early-season trend.
Boston came in on the second night of a back-to-back, having barely escaped Detroit with a win 24 hours earlier. They’ve looked vulnerable so far, though not to the extent Toronto has, and they were without their three veteran point guards – Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart and Jeff Teague, who missed the game with various ailments.
The Raptors started the game on fire, hitting seven of their first nine three-point attempts to give them an early 13-point cushion. They got, and wasted, one of the best games of VanVleet’s career – he scored 35 points on 13-of-20 shooting and 6-of-9 from long distance. But it wasn’t enough.
Once the Celtics took control midway through the second quarter they never relinquished it, leading by as many as 26 points in the fourth.
That’s been the through line in each of the Raptors’ losses to begin the campaign – once they get punched, they’ve rarely punched back. It’s a complete 180 from a year ago, when they prided themselves on their unrelenting effort and ability to find ways to win.
They led by 10 or more points in 52 games last season, and only lost four of them. They’re already 1-5 when leading by double digits in 2020-21.
“I think 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,” said Lowry. “And right now we have no swagger to us. We have nothing. There’s nothing to us. We’re just that team. Teams are looking at us like ‘all right, let’s go eat’, and that’s not a good feeling. I think we have to use that to fuel our own fire, somehow someway.”
One way or another, this always seemed like the type of game we would look back on, either as a turning point for this Raptors team, or as a breaking point. Unless something drastic changes, as they embark on a tough four-game West Coast road trip, beginning in Phoenix on Wednesday, it’s looking far more likely that Monday’s loss to Boston will be the latter.
“Nobody’s coming to save us, we’ve gotta do this ourselves,” VanVleet said. “We’ve gotta do a little soul searching and look ourselves in the mirror.
“We’ve just gotta find ways to get the job done. There’s no secret recipe, there’s a boatload of problems and we gotta find ways to solve them.”
Source: – TSN
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