McCaw has only been able to play 5 games since March 2020 because of persistent left knee issues. He's had surgery on that knee twice and is currently sidelined with it again. https://t.co/1ytd3YVai2
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) April 9, 2021
Draft Simulator for April 9th, 2021 – Tankathon
Of course, the real reason it was a great snapshot of the season is that Siakam and Boucher didn’t have a ton of help. Quite literally. The Raptors had just eight players available thanks to injuries (six players), suspension (Bembry), a too-late signing to clear protocols (Freddie Gillespie) and the wait for waivers to pass (Khem Birch). The bench of Yuta Watanabe (very good defensively), Stanley Johnson and Aron Baynes just didn’t stand a chance as a unit, even if none of them were terrible individually. Eight players, five of them natural power forwards, only one of whom is a reliable source of his own offence.
“We’ve played some, I think, really good basketball in stretches,” Nurse said. “I’m not sure it could get any funkier this year than it’s gotten. I mean, when you think, ‘Come on, there’s just nothing else that can happen here,’ something else comes up.”
Flynn is still learning. Gary Trent Jr. had his toughest game as a Raptor under heavier defensive pressure, shooting 2 of 14. Anunoby shot 5 of 17 with a very new mix of opportunities, running more pick-and-roll, getting to create for himself and others and even leading bench-heavy groups as a sort of point forward. His six assists are encouraging, and he won’t be asked to do all of this in normal times.
That’s kind of where this stretch of the season leaves the Raptors. I know the lottery versus play-in game non-decision decision can be divisive, but even if they make a late push — less likely by the day! — the season’s focus should be on the longer term. Flynn isn’t ready to run an offence on his own. Anunoby might struggle as your second-highest-usage player. Trent still needs some help getting his shots. All of those things are fine, and if you want points to build from, these opportunities to stretch their roles will probably help these players as they return to their more natural places in the hierarchy.
It can make it difficult to pull real takeaways from the noise. It’s one thing with Anunoby and Trent, who have projectable roles, or Flynn, who’s a rookie who needs these reps. Digging into lineups with three fringe roster players, let alone fringe rotation players, gets a lot more complicated. So much of the good moments coming when the team is already down 15 or 20 or 30 confuses things further, stress-testing the line between process and results.
Things will, theoretically, normalize soon. Gillespie and Paul Watson Jr. could both clear protocols by Saturday’s game. Bembry’s suspension is over. Lowry was said to be out seven to 10 days nine days ago. Birch could enter the mix by the weekend if he’s not claimed and clears protocols. (VanVleet will have to serve a one-game suspension once healthy; there’s not as clear a timeline on Rodney Hood or Jalen Harris.) That will at least provide more context-relevant information to move forward with, and maybe a few more fun near-miss comebacks.
10 things: Raptors’ Chris Boucher goes off for 38-19 – Yahoo!
Six — Lacking: The Raptors needed more from OG Anunoby, who shot 5-of-17 for 13 points. It was an inefficient night, which is rare, but this is typical of a sharp change in role. Anunoby is mostly used as a play finisher, getting to his spot with an advantage and either hitting threes or using his size to score at the basket, but the Raptors mostly asked him to create for himself. Anunoby had shown good progress on this front in limited doses, but he struggled in a featured role and was unable to create efficient shots. The Bulls smartly assigned Williams to guard Anunoby, which is pretty much like looking in the mirror as Williams is another long 6-foot-8 forward with great feet and a strong base, which took away any advantages that Anunoby would typically have.
With Raptors facing divergent paths, Boucher continues remarkable ascension – Sportsnet
The Bulls were in more of a no-lose situation. Chicago was one of the most aggressive teams at the NBA trade deadline as they traded away two first-round picks and a recent lottery pick, Wendell Carter Jr., to acquire 29-year-old all-star Nikola Vucevic from Orlando. They also added Daniel Theis from Boston and Troy Brown Jr. from Washington.
It was a win-now move but was initially slow to pay dividends, as the Bulls lost their first four games before righting the ship with wins over Brooklyn and Indiana ahead of travelling to Tampa to play the Raptors.
“It’s kind of pushing all your chips in,” Nurse said. “You’re serious about your team, and you’re serious about making the playoffs and playing in the post-season when you make trades like that at the deadline.”
It’s hard to argue the Raptors did the same in trading away Norman Powell – even if Gary Trent Jr. looks like a nice pick up. Toronto has done nothing to address a clear lacking at centre that was evident from the moment they broke training camp.
Still, there remains a belief that if they ever get healthy, they are a team that can make some noise if they get into the playoffs by hook or by crook.
“[But] … I’m still in the mindset of try to get in and continue to build and hopefully get some guys back in and get that team to continue to improve and build, and then, I don’t know, who’s to say you’re not really hard to beat four times if you can get through the play-in and get in a seven-game series?” said Nurse. “I don’t shy away from playing anybody in a seven-game series.”
Failing that, a top-eight draft pick would be acceptable compensation, many would agree, and maybe even preferable.
Both dreams remain alive, though with their loss to the Bulls the Raptors chances of getting lucky in the lottery are gaining ground.
Bulls vs. Raptors final score: Chicago uses complete team effort to earn 122-113 win – Blog a Bull
The final score was a bit closer than the game actually was given the Bulls held a commanding lead throughout most of it after a sluggish start saw them go down 16-7 early. LaVine woke the team up with a scoring surge as Chicago used a 24-6 run in the first quarter to take control, and the lead got to 20 by midway through the second quarter as the bench dominated.
The largest lead of the game was 22 points in the third quarter and then again early in the fourth, and the Bulls were never really threatened until a late 9-0 Raptors run made things semi-interesting with just under three minutes to play. A gaggle of Bulls missed layups opened the door for the Raptors to make things even closer with the score 115-108, but two empty possessions later and LaVine finally shut the door with five straight points to avoid an epic collapse.
Nikola Vucevic matched LaVine with 22 points while adding seven rebounds and four assists, but his defensive limitations were on display against a versatile starting frontcourt of Pascal Siakam and Chris Boucher. Siakam didn’t hesitate to go right at Vucevic off the dribble and wound up with 27 points and eight rebounds, while Boucher had a career night with a monster 38 points and 19 rebounds. In fact, the Raptors outscored the Bulls by 16 points in Boucher’s 36 minutes.
But this is where the Bulls’ depth advantage came into play. Toronto only had eight available players, with Aron Baynes mostly a disaster as the backup big man and Stanley Johnson and Yuta Watanabe the only other two Raptors available off the bench. Lauri Markkanen and Daniel Theis dominated in their reserve roles, with Markkanen going for an efficient 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting in 18 minutes and Theis putting forth a terrific all-around effort with 14 points (6-of-9 shooting), 10 rebounds, three assists and a plus-16 in the box score. Markkanen was a team-high plus-23 (LaVine was right behind at plus-20) as he scored both outside (2-of-4 from 3) and inside by finishing over smaller defenders on several aggressive moves to the basket. Coby White had a nice shooting game as well off the bench with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 from 3, though he did have some ugly turnovers and bad fouls as black marks on his performance.
Still, getting that kind of efficient scoring from the bench was the difference for the Bulls and helped make up for the big Boucher and Siakam nights. Markkanen and White are starting to look more comfortable in these bench roles with a bit less pressure on them, and we’ll see if they can keep it up moving forward as Billy Donovan settles on his rotation. With Theis back from a one-game absence and Garrett Temple still out, Donovan stuck to a nine-man rotation with Troy Brown Jr. getting 14 minutes as the ninth man.
The Bulls were certainly helped in this game by the absences of Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, with the Raptors’ starting backcourt duo of Malachi Flynn and Gary Trent Jr. combining for just 15 points on a woeful 5-of-25 shooting from the field. But after years of garbage basketball and limited rosters at this point in the season, it’s nice to see Chicago actually be the team to have a mostly healthy team taking advantage while playing in meaningful games.
Recap: Toronto Raptors lose to Chicago Bulls, 122-113 – Raptors HQ
After a streak of disappointing performances where his shot went wayward and his defensive mistakes were more pronounced, Boucher put together his best performance of the season on both ends. Scoring 38 points and grabbing 19 rebounds, the Montreal native came just a board short of becoming the first player in franchise history to record a 30-20 game.
The issues with Boucher are well-known. He’s often struggled this season to get on the glass against larger bodies, and the Raptors have needed him to compete there because the other option at centre is (bleh) Aron Baynes. Tonight, he was excellent against both Nikola Vucevic and Daniel Theis, as his activity level earned him ten defensive boards and nine offensive — out-working both Chicago bigs on so many possessions.
That dominance in the frontcourt extended to another good performance from Pascal Siakam. Scoring 27 points on just 17 shots, Siakam continued an excellent stretch of basketball where he’s anchored Toronto’s thin roster. Able to get eight rebounds of his own, Siakam has not settled for the outside shot that’s eluded him since the bubble last fall. Instead, he’s attacked the rim with regularity, and showed awesome finishing ability.
The Raptors did lose the game, though, and it ultimately came down to lack of production outside of Boucher and Siakam.
The starting backcourt of Malachi Flynn and Gary Trent Jr. combined to go 5-for-25 from the field. The absence of Trent (2-for-14) became really pronounced as the evening went on, as the young guard’s shot selection looked increasingly poor. Toronto still needs time for Trent Jr. to get acclimated (and more help appears on the way in the form of Khem Birch and Freddie Gillespie), but one area of improvement should be giving up the early shot clock three for something more efficient — a common issue tonight.
OG Anunoby ended up being the only other Raptor to score in double digits with 13, but needed 17 shots to get there. Toronto’s bench — Yuta Watanabe, Stanley Johnson, and Baynes — combined for just 14 points, compared to 47 pine points for the Bulls.
The Bulls did only play nine players, one more than Toronto, but the depth in talent was more important than strength in numbers. Lauri Markkanen had 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting off the bench, while the team was led by 22 points each for Vucevic (9-for-19) and Zach LaVine (8-for-16). LaVine was also excellent setting up his teammates with 13 assists, as four other Bulls scored in double figures and the team shot 54 percent from the field overall.
Raptors’ play-in hopes dwindling after loss to Bulls – TSN.ca
To their credit, the eight Raptors that were available did what they could. They scrapped and clawed and hung around long enough to make things at least mildly uncomfortable for Chicago down the stretch. But while the effort was laudable, they were simply overmatched.
Chris Boucher had a career night, pouring in 38 points and grabbing 19 rebounds – he was just one board shy of posting the first 30-20 game in franchise history – and Pascal Siakam was dominant, scoring 27 points of his own. However, those two accounted for 58 per cent of the team’s offence. The Bulls had seven players score in double figures. Toronto had three.
“I think they hung in,” Nurse said after the 122-113 loss. “[It] got away from us there for a bit and we battled all the way back to [give ourselves] a chance actually. We were getting stop after stop after stop, [the deficit was] down to seven [points], and with a couple three balls that didn’t go on we could have got a really made it interesting there. But, yeah, I mean it’s unfortunate, the schedule and the injuries and suspensions and COVID and all that stuff [are] not great timing for this game of this magnitude.”
Even at the best of times, this is a team that’s lacking in depth. Playing undermanned – especially without their veteran point guards – has seemed like an impossible challenge. Lowry’s missed six of the past seven contests with a lingering foot infection, while a hip injury has sidelined VanVleet for three straight.
Rookie Malachi Flynn made his first NBA start on Thursday, but he and fellow 22-year-old guard Gary Trent Jr., who both helped spark the two-game winning streak earlier in the week, combined for just 15 points on 5-of-25 shooting.
Chris Boucher’s best night wasn’t enough for the Raptors against the Bulls | The Star
It was a game in which the Raptors needed near perfection and some good fortune to win and they got neither.
“It was really good … for a lot of stretches,” Nurse said. “There was a rough stretch and it seemed like about the last four minutes of the first and the first six of the second wasn’t good either way for that chunk, but the rest of it wasn’t bad.”
It wasn’t bad, at all. It just wasn’t great and that’s what was needed.
It was a costly loss as Toronto fell three games behind the Bulls for the final spot in the newfangled play-in tournament for the playoffs and that was the most important factor. The season isn’t over — 20 games remain — but it’s getting awfully late for a team missing so many key contributors.
“We’re missing a lot of vets, a lot of guys that we actually truly need and I think we go from there,” Chris Boucher said. “We try to fix it with the group that we have. I think we’re making strides obviously and, when the main guys come back, just try to get where we can be. I think we could be a good team just by effort and everybody clicking together.”
Boucher did his part Thursday with an eye-popping statistical night. He had 38 points and 19 rebounds, both career highs, and came within one rebound of recording the first 30-20 game in franchise history.
“He was really good rebounding and it seemed like anytime we drove it deep he was there to collect the miss and tip it back in,” Nurse said. “(A) big night for him really. Really, really proud of him, happy for him, and this is a good time. He’s getting to start now and he’s getting big minutes and, at least tonight, he’s taken advantage of it, for sure.”
Eight-man Raptors overwhelmed by Bulls | Toronto Sun
To say the Raptors laboured on offence would be an understatement.
Chicago tried to force a quicker tempo given the shorthanded nature of the Raptors and the Bulls also went big.
Nurse went back with his starters out of necessity.
Trent Jr. finally made a shot to cut Chicago’s lead to 48-31, but a Bulls three-ball created a 20-point hole for the homeside.
Trent Jr. then stepped into a three to record his first make from distance.
Anunoby drilled a rare three-pointer as the Raptors began to turn the Bulls over and compete harder by playing with energy and urgency.
At the break, the Raptors trailed 64-51 when it could have been much worse had Chicago delivered a knock out blow.
Combined, Anunoby and Trent Jr. were 6-for-23 in the first half, the Raptors’ bench was being outscored 27-3 and Chicago was making 53% of its shots while holding the Raptors to under 40% shooting.
Why Khem Birch no longer fit with the Magic, but makes sense for the Raptors – The Athletic
Murphy: Birch should help with the rebounding even if his individual rebounding numbers aren’t spectacular. Simply having a capable centre you trust for minutes opens up the opportunity to play with traditional size a bit more, where suddenly your four and five are against threes and fours. Birch should also require less pre-shot collapsing to the paint in help, which could leave wings in a better rebounding position.
Individually, Birch has a pretty modest 13.3 percent rebound rate. He’s got the old Jakob Poeltl stat line where his offensive rebounding rate is nearly as high as on the defensive end, which is, well, great on offence and not so much on defence. He’s a little better than those individual numbers suggest, ranking 68th in three-year regularized adjusted team rebound rate (RAPM rebounding). In other words, even if he’s not grabbing them himself, he can help on the glass as a big, strong body.
One concern: Are there enough dumbbells and plates at the Raptors’ makeshift Tampa home for Birch, Gillespie, OG Anunoby and Stanley Johnson? The Crossfit Raptors are a problem.
As for Gillespie, I don’t think much changes here, honestly. Birch is about helping now and seeing how he fits for a potential role next year. Gillespie, even without the Birch signing, was about a long-term play. As with most 10 days, that’s a matter of getting an intimate look at a player. How is he as a person? How does he take to coaching? How quickly does he pick up the system? Gillespie is raw at 23 because he’s played very little basketball in his life compared to other prospects, and he’s improved dramatically. He could give some energy now, but the real draw is what he could be after a year in the team’s development system.
Speaking of development systems — Josh, is there any sort of underlying concern with Birch’s lack of growth in his four years in Orlando? He has, of course, improved, and steady, reliable backups have value even when stagnant, but it seems as if Birch has plateaued, or even regressed a bit this year. Is that a fair evaluation?
NBA Free Agent Report: The Raptors are favourites to sign centre Khem Birch – Raptors HQ
As a Canadian, Birch has long been on the radar of Raptors fans. The 28-year-old native of Montreal has spent the last four years with the Orlando Magic, largely in a reserve role. Listed at 6’9” and 233 pounds, Birch is a mobile big man, known for his play and presence around the rim. (This can also be construed as code for: he’s a big man who doesn’t have much shooting range.) Right now, Birch’s numbers don’t exactly jump off the page — 5.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game — but he’s shown his use over the years as a versatile frontcourt player. And at this point, one thing is clear: the Raptors need all the help they can get in that department.
There’s also a nice bit of synergy here with regards to Team Canada, on which Birch has been a mainstay over the last few years. Since 2019, Raptors coach Nick Nurse has been the head coach of the national team, which aligns a few interests, if only in the short term. In all, assuming the pieces fall into place and he clears waivers, Birch would very much be worth a look from the Raptors and should be given a chance to at least play out the season as another big man off the bench — who could start too, if need be.
Will this change the fortunes of the Raptors in the short term? Maybe, maybe not. The team is still 20-31 and seems half-committed (though subtly so) to the idea of losing games to squeeze into perhaps the top-5 pick range of the 2021 NBA Draft. If nothing else, it gives the Raptors the opportunity to play two Montrealers in their frontcourt at the same time (Birch and Boucher). And could give them a different look when Aron Baynes is struggling — not an uncommon sight.
Raptors poised to add Montreal’s Khem Birch to help with frontcourt issues | The Star
Birch, who played 188 games over four seasons with the Magic, has produced in a limited role, averaging about nine rebounds per 36 minutes in 48 games — five starts — this season.
He is very much a work in progress offensively — just 4-for-21 from three-point range this season, 4-for-23 in his career — but the Raptors’ needs are far more concentrated on rebounding and interior defence.
Birch should not be seen as any miracle cure to Toronto’s woes but he could very well turn into someone the Raptors’ vaunted player development program could bring along.
His audition with Toronto could provide some input into how the Raptors will address a future need while also solving an immediate problem with the construction of the roster.
It would make sense for the Raptors to sign Birch to a deal that includes the rest of this season and next, with a minimal guarantee on a 2021-22 salary.
The team faces the prospects of entering the free-agent season without a true centre on the roster because it’s highly unlikely they will pick up the $7.2-million (U.S.) option on Baynes’ contract for next season.
While Birch is unlikely to be a starting centre any time soon — at least not on a team with big aspirations — he could be a valuable depth piece or backup, and having some control over him for next season would take one item off the summer to-do list for general manager Bobby Webster.
As the Raptors learned this year, when they got within a month of the opening of training camp without a centre under contract and settled on Baynes and Alex Len, getting a jump on the back end of the roster now would allow the front office to concentrate on filling more major gaps.
For now, though, Birch may address a crippling hole in the lineup.
