Raptors’ minutes crunch is on Nick Nurse, but not only him – The Athletic
The NBA’s regular season is long, though. Because of their three postponed games, the Raptors’ schedule will be more compressed in the second half than the first. Sure, they are missing one full-time starter and one part-time rotation player, but that is life in the NBA. As Nurse knows well, waiting for complete health in this league is usually foolish.
So, what do you do in the meantime? It is important to remember that NBA teams have more metrics than simply minutes played to assess the wear and tear on a player’s body. However, through the 10 games that were finished by the time the Raptors game ended Wednesday, only six players had played 40 or more minutes — and three of them were Raptors players. (The others were Darius Garland, Terry Rozier and Luka Doncic, who was brilliant against the Raptors.) This is not something that happens regularly in the NBA, but it is happening routinely with the Raptors.
You have to worry about how your best players will hold up over the course of games and the season as a whole. The minutes crunch is more worrisome for what it might mean in the future than what it has meant in the games that have already occurred.
The Raptors play a style that requires a lot of energy. They put tons of pressure on ballhandlers, are best when they are pushing the pace on offence and encourage their players to create second chances on the offensive glass. For the guys who are logging these minutes, even if the offensive burden is split to the point that nobody has the ball way more than the other lead options, they are not easy minutes.
There are elements of this that make no sense. The Raptors have spoken about the need to develop and evaluate their young players, but 2020 first-round pick Malachi Flynn and 2021 second-round pick Dalano Banton are not playing. If they are not going to play with the Raptors, they might as well go to the G League and get minutes there. Having both of them with the Raptors as guard insurance is needless if Nurse is not going to play them.
In Yuta Watanabe and Svi Mykhailiuk, the Raptors have one defence-first player and another offence-first player who can each soak up at least 10 to 15 minutes. They have done so multiple times this season.
But it’s not as if Nurse is making the decisions without reason. If you enjoy meritocracies, one is taking place with the Raptors. All four of the players who did not play because of Nurse’s decision Wednesday have struggled mightily, especially lately. The Raptors are in the Eastern Conference play-in morass that is likely to stay muddled. Every minute counts, and the Raptors have struggled consistently on offence with any of them out there.
“I think you’ve gotta show a lot of guts and confidence, and on your off days, you keep working to continue to get better,” VanVleet said of the players who are not getting on the floor during games right now. “And when you get your next chance, you go out there and you let it fly and you play like your hair is on fire and play like it’s your last opportunity. All of those guys are capable. We’re searching and we’re gonna need more help along the way. I’m confident that any one of those guys can step up.”
Toronto Raptors Pascal Siakam is putting together his best season. Is anyone noticing? – Raptors HQ
When Siakam trade chatter intensified this off-season the general consensus was a good offer and a fresh start might be best for both parties.
However, this season, after scuffling a bit on returning from injury, Siakam has taken another leap and it’s come not in his shooting, but in what else he does when the ball is in his hands.
Siakam has refined his playmaking each month, and his assists have spiked, from 3.7 in November, to almost double, 6.8, in January. [Editor’s note: Stats compiled before Wednesday’s loss to Dallas.]
That playmaking has helped January to be arguably the best month of Spicy-P’s career — a 23.3/8.8/6.8 line on 47.9/44.8/69.6 shooting.
Only two players in the NBA have put up those sort of numbers: Giannis and Jokic.
But forget January — take Siakam’s season averages of 21/8.3/5.0, and you add one more player to the list — Luka Doncic.
Drop the rebounding down to an even eight, and you add James Harden. That’s incredible stuff, and it feels like it’s gone unnoticed what elite company Spicy-P is keeping this year.
To repeat, Siakam has shown the sort of multi-faceted game that only four MVP-level players have managed this season. Spurred by that sudden and very noticeable increase in his ability to make plays for others.
Those are passes Siakam simply wasn’t making earlier in his career. His ability to outwait the double-team, or make quick decisions on the roll have greatly improved. In previous seasons, Siakam was often a beat late in these situations, causing a turnover, or forcing himself into a low-percentage look.
That perceived lack of efficiency is still the knock on Siakam. Afterall, since Kawhi left, Siakam has seen his shooting percentages plummet.
But, are Raptor fans wrong about that criticism?
Yes, Siakam’s True Shooting Percentage of 54.7% this season is below league average, but, you know who Siakam DOES have a higher true-shooting percentage than?
Luka.
In fact, of the 39 players in the NBA who average 25% usage (and have played at least Siakam’s 28 games), Pascal ranks 21st in TS%. Just behind Dame Lillard, and just ahead of Bradley Beal. Basically, Siakam is league average at making shots. And, if it wasn’t for some weirdness at the charity-stripe he’d be even better. If Siakam was hitting 80-percent of his freebies — his average for the three seasons previous to this one — he’d be sporting a TS% of 56%.
Still, there are ways Nick Nurse could help goose Siakam’s efficiency. One is by finding him more looks from the corner.
Trade deadline should tell us how much Raptors are prioritizing short-term success – TSN.ca
There are no easy answers. With two key rotation pieces out of the lineup and a lack of depth behind them, Nurse can either risk overworking his regulars or roll the dice on unproven players who haven’t been producing in their limited minutes.
It’s a no-win situation, hence Nurse’s frustration following Wednesday’s 102-98 loss to the red-hot Mavericks. He commended the effort of his team, but seemed annoyed by the narrative that was starting to develop.
It’s fair to acknowledge the substantial workload that some of these guys are carrying on both ends of the floor, or even question it and suggest that it may be taking its toll. The Raptors played four games in six days, all of them on the road and with a shortened bench. Over that stretch, Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam both played 167 of a possible 192 minutes, with OG Anunoby logging 153. Those three players combined to shoot 5-for-23 from three-point range against Dallas, including 1-for-9 in the fourth quarter when it sure looked like they had run out of gas.
“You guys watched the game, I’ll let you make of that what you will,” VanVleet said after a rare off-night shooting. “I’m definitely not gonna make any excuses here. I gotta be better, and if I make a couple more shots we probably sneak out of here with a win.”
But instead of suggesting that the Raptors lost because they overextended their best players, you could look at it and ask; would they have even had a chance to compete with one of the league’s hottest teams and steal an unlikely win if they didn’t ride those guys?
It’s not like the alternatives inspire much confidence. Since the beginning of the month, the Raptors have been outscored by 35 points in Yuta Watanabe’s 39 minutes. They’ve been outscored by 14 points in 18 minutes with Dalano Banton on the floor and by 13 points in 14 minutes with Malachi Flynn. Those three, along with Svi Mykhailiuk, have combined to shoot 5-for-35 from the field in January.
They haven’t played well, but in their defence, it’s tough for players – especially young players – to stay in rhythm, get comfortable in their roles, and produce consistently when their usage is so sporadic. It’s a chicken and egg scenario. Those guys aren’t going to play unless they produce, but they can’t produce if they don’t play. Generally, the time for players who are outside of the rotation to earn a coach’s trust is in practice, but the Raptors haven’t had many of those recently.
That’s where Nurse’s dilemma comes in. Will you get more out of the starters running on fumes or the end-of-bench guys on fresh legs? If it were that simple, the answer would be relatively straightforward. The seven guys that are playing right now – VanVleet, Siakam, Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Precious Achiuwa, Chris Boucher and Justin Champagnie – are playing for a reason. They make mistakes here and there and have their off nights, but for the most part they’re bringing effort and energy every time they step on the floor, which is all you can ask.
That’s why it’s not just a question of who you’d rather have out there right now. The concern with the team’s recent minute distribution is the long-term impact it might have.
Can short-handed Raptors sustain minutes overload? – Toronto Sun
“I didn’t shoot it well enough tonight, I don’t have many of these in the season, I try to make them as few as possible. You guys watch the game, I’ll let you make of that what you will, I’m definitely not gonna make any excuses here. I gotta be better and … if I make a couple more shots we probably sneak out of here with a win,” he said.
“Unless you know something I don’t know, this is what we got. There’s no help on the way. We’re in a fight. We’re grinding it out. We got high-character guys, guys that work extremely hard,” VanVleet said when asked if the team can keep going short-handed.
“We’ve got a great medical team, a great organization. We’re doing everything we can to play hard every night. I think we’re getting great performances for the guys who are playing. This is what we’ve got until otherwise. We’re in the mix right now. We’ve lost a couple ones we could’ve won. But we’ll bounce back. It’ll go the other way on some of these nights as well. You’ve just got to hope over time these things will smooth out.”
Nurse’s message to those on the outside of the rotation looking in, such as Yuta Watanabe, was to go out and impress in practice in order to work their way back.
“We still have our times to go to the gym. So, put in some good hard work and all of those moments, especially when you’re coming off games when you’re not playing,” Nurse said.
“You’ve gotta really go and have some great sessions there and that’s how you’ve got to do it right now.”
VanVleet, who is the team’s captain and leader, urged patience for his teammates.
“It’s tough. I think they should just understand the situation, understand the opportunity. These things swing back and forth, the way the season goes there’s a lot of ups and downs and I think whenever that next opportunity comes for those guys, they should have a different approach than what they had previously,” he said.
“I think you gotta show a lot of guts and confidence and on your off-days you keep working to continue to get better and when you get your next chance you go out there and you let it fly and you play like your hair is on fire and play like it’s your last opportunity. All of those guys are capable, we’re searching and we’re gonna need more help along the way and I’m confident that any one of those guys can step up and make big plays for us so they just gotta stay locked in, stay ready, and stay confident.”
Raptors Assign Dalano Banton to G League 905 – Sports Illustrated
The Toronto Raptors are finally letting Dalano Banton get some in-game action.
On the heels of three straight benchings, the Raptors have assigned the rookie guard to the Raptors 905, the team announced Thursday.
Banton burst onto the scene early in the season, averaging 4.3 points in 13 minutes per game through the first 25 games of the year. He was a change-of-pace guard for Toronto who had usurped Malachi Flynn’s playing time to lay claim to the backup point guard spot behind Fred VanVleet.
The good time, however, quickly came to an end as turnover trouble and defensive lapses have kept Banton out of the rotation for the better part of the last two months. Since returning from COVID-19, he’s played in just six of Toronto’s last 13 games and he’s been held to all but mop-up duty recently.
NBA preview: Wizards look to even series against Raptors – Bullets Forever
The Washington Wizards (23-22) will face the Toronto Raptors (21-21) for the fourth time this season on Friday night. The Wizards are 1-2 against the Raptors this season with their last game (Dec. 5) resulting in a 90-102 loss. In a game where Toronto led by as many as 25 points, the Wizards didn’t have an answer for Pascal Siakam.
The power forward scored a team-high 31 points off of 10 for 21 from the field. He also made 10-out-of-12 free throws. Chris Boucher and Scottie Barnes put up 14 and 11 points respectively. Precious Achiuwa had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. The Wizards, who only had two players score in double-figures, were led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bradley Beal. Caldwell-Pope had a stellar game, scoring 26 points. He went 8-for-9 from the field and was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc and 6-for-6 from free-throw line. Beal’s offensive night wasn’t as pretty but he did add 14 points off of 4-for-12 shooting from the field and 7 assists.
The Wizards will look to even the series but they’ll have to have more of the team making an impact in the frontcourt like they did on Wednesday against the Nets when the Wizards had six players in double-figures. Beal had a team-high 23 points and nine assists. Kuzma followed with 16 points, Montrezl Harrell and Rui Hachimura each had 14 and Deni Avdija finished the night with 13 points.
With a season filled with injuries and health and safety protocols, the Wizards will have all of its players available for the third consecutive game.
Tipoff: Raptors at Wizards | Toronto Sun
Washington has gone from one of the nice early stories (11-5 start to the season) to back to .500 should the Raptors win this game.
Statistically mediocre is probably how this group should be assessed, so the record makes sense. Washington sits 19th on offence, 21st on defence and 22nd in net rating (points scored per 100 possessions minus points allowed per 100 possessions). Kyle Kuzma has been excellent for the team and Spencer Dinwiddie always gives Toronto problems.
There’s a battle brewing at centre, with former starter Thomas Bryant just back from a year-long injury absence. Daniel Gafford and Montrezl Harrell also are deserving of time and the team is deep at power forward too. That’s why most expect a trade to happen by the deadline.
We asked an expert to explain Gary Trent Jr.’s show-stopping style | The Star
Cardigans without a shirt are unorthodox and what makes it even more jaw-dropping is the price. That reversible GG mohair wool cardigan Trent was seen in costs a stunning $3,400 for a look he wears very casually.
Last week in Phoenix when the Raptors played the Suns, Trent was seen wearing a Moncler Poncho with a gold chain wrapped around his neck and a plethora of tattoos on display.
Trent’s outfits are eye-popping, but never garish. Stunning but never glaring. And deCarufel attributes it to him feeling at home in his clothes.
“The thing that ultimately makes his style so interesting is that he is able to kind of take these designer pieces which might seem a little bit inaccessible, and by styling his own way, and one of the ways that is wearing it without another layer, he kind of makes it feel a bit more approachable and a bit more casual.” deCarufel said.
More recently the Raptors guard was seen wearing green on green (this time with a shirt) during the Raptors’ win over the Miami Heat. It’s a rather tame outfit on its face when compared to previous looks, but as deCarufel outlines, the fabric and the colour makes a secret statement.
“Green is very on trend in the fashion world,” she said. “I think that the fabric, it looks to me like a textured kind of brocade, is wild to be wearing on the bench because it’s such a fancy fabric. But I think it’s really cool that he’s doing that.”
There’s a level of freedom Trent’s outfits pull off that resonates with onlookers. Ponchos can be worn without anything else, sweaters don’t need shirts to frame them and detailed prints can be made into shorts. Anything can be worn in any situation, which is emblematic of the pandemic.
“I think for somebody like Gary in particular, I think he’s kind of giving us some joy right now which is what I feel like we all need during the pandemic times. And so when you see somebody like Gary, switching his sweater around during games, it lifts you, even for a moment and I think that that’s something during a tough time in the world right now.
“It’s something that we all kind of need.”
