Pascal Siakam started the first two games of his career. That was before he was assigned and recalled to the 905 thirteen times in 2017. That was before his G-League Finals MVP, his All-NBA honours, and his NBA Championship. Siakam started because Dwane Casey had a reverence for his bench unit’s cohesion and impact, so he vaulted his rookie Siakam into the starting power forward slot and began his career. Christian Koloko, from the same town in Cameroon as Siakam, started his 4th NBA game, with Nick Nurse eyeing a similar goal for his bench.
A daring proposition, in some sense. The Raptors have been losing the Koloko minutes and it’s always dangerous to spot leads to teams, or surrender a matchup that they may hunt. Koloko has been good relative to expectations, but despite his potential and all that may come, he’s nowhere near the level of player that Precious Achiuwa and Chris Boucher are currently. The starter conversation is on the back burner though, with the injury to Scottie Barnes – we just need to see the best players, the rotation guys, playing the bigger minutes. Nick Nurse has finally hit the yes button on the Achiuwa minutes, and over the course of the 2-game series vs. the Heat, he’s provided 68 minutes of sublime defense, creation on offense, and a lot of rebounds.
“Yeah listen, I think that… it didn’t feel right in the first couple games. He wasn’t getting much of a run. He wasn’t quite – on opening night he didn’t play much in the first half – it felt like he needed to come out and kind of regroup at half and he played better in the second half. It takes some time to figure out, kind of, where to slot him in and let him go. Now, he played with tremendous energy. Like, that is what I’m trying to get consistent. There’s too much there, if he plays hard, not to be productive.”
Nick Nurse on his limiting of Achiuwa’s minutes
The big numbers? 28-points and 33 rebounds. There is no substitute for him on the roster.
After the win, Achiuwa walked off the court and into a microphone: “It always feels good to beat them (Heat).” And adding: “I’m down to beat this team any day. That excites me more than anything.”
Achiuwa is often part of the Raptors most dominant defensive stretches. They’re a better defensive team when he’s on the floor, full stop. So, Achiuwa reclaiming his proper form and running with it adds a lot to this Raptors team. Small spoonful’s of shot creation, and a couple really good rolls to the basket over the last couple games make for a dynamic substitution to whatever lineup the Raptors are running.
Nurse joked about Achiuwa’s phenomenal performance after the game: “I didn’t really notice him out there. (laughs) I mean, listen, that’s a little bit of an explosion, right? Or, a lotta bit of one, right? But, he’s blessed with a super body and athleticism and power, you know, he should be near a double-digit rebounder for us. So, he was going after ’em tonight, that’s for sure.”
The real fun of this game though, was Chris Boucher’s return to the lineup where he could join his bash bro, in Achiuwa. When the Raptors lost Barnes in the first game of this series, it greatly affected how they could maneuver against small switches and a clogged paint; not necessarily with size, but a sheer number of bodies. The Heat are a great defensive team, who came out even more poised to overload on Siakam and see what answer the Raptors could provide. That first answer, of course, was Boucher & Achiuwa.
I’ve always been used to playing with another big body – high school, college, all that kind of stuff – But yeah, having him (Boucher) out there definitely helps. That way I can be a lot more versatile on defense, you know? Like, switch if I’m guarding the player that’s not a threat from outside, and I could roam, play a lot of help-side between the gaps and all that. Kinda like, anchor the defense and all that kind of stuff, so yeah.
Adding further: Oh, I enjoy playing with Chris. Next time we have media you guys should ask him how much I’ve bugged him to speed up his recovery process. There’s nothing I haven’t said to him. I enjoy playing with him. Me and Chris, we have a really good understanding on the floor. I know where he’s at, he understands the way I play, I understand the way he plays. We have a really good connection, so I really enjoy playing with him. He brings a different type of energy, not just to the team, but to me.
Precious Achiuwa on his playing time with Chris Boucher
There’s 5:16 left in the first quarter, our bench starlets stand side-by-side on the scorers table and check into a game the Raptors trail by one point. 3 and a half minutes later, they’re up by 8. The Heat wanted to extend their zone to force higher pickup points for Siakam, and that left their backline open to an assault from Boucher and Achiuwa who immediately started to carve out a home in the paint.
One of the quickest ways to bust a zone? Threaten the offensive glass with reckless abandon (while still being able to get back in transition) or bust into the middle of it before it’s fully set:
Outside of that first run, our favourite bench duo wasn’t really operating in tandem. Boucher had some silly fouls, some tough calls, and ended up compiling 5 fouls in less than 12 minutes. He couldn’t factor into that game even if he wanted to. Nurse reached to Dalano Banton, where another disappointing performance awaited. Then, he reached further down the bench to Malachi Flynn, who brought the type of catch-and-shoot shot making that you can plug in to beat a zone, or heavy rotation. For the second game in a row, Flynn checked in as a shooter for the Raptors and didn’t disappoint. A big development, and one that, if it continues, will likely see him jump Banton in the rotation for the upcoming games. With a 2-game series against the 76ers coming up, Nurse may want Banton’s size and length on the court for defensive rotations against Embiid, Harden & co., though.
The final run of the game, and the best one, the fourth quarter that the Raptors won 27-14, closing on a 25-9 run. Siakam found his form on offense and began to stir the Heat defense into unrest. On the other side, the Raptors defense was phenomenal.
It was mostly Siakam, collapsing our defense. We just weren’t great on those reads. We were sometimes overhelping, or sometimes players like that will draw extra defenders and the next guy has to rotate – we just didn’t scramble enough out of those drives. They made some big shots down the stretch.
Erik Spoelstra on the Heat’s struggles to get stops down the stretch
Spoelstra talks about scrambling to recover after initial rotations, and the Raptors are no different. The Raptors got beat at times, but they also moved in sync with one another to understand where and when to help to mitigate the Heat’s advantages. When this Raptors team holds a team to 14 points in a quarter? It means they’re on a string defensively. Something Achiuwa alluded to as he elaborated on how he and O.G. defend actions: “It’s easy. Once I see O.G. is guarding someone, or if I’m guarding someone, I just know they’re probably not going to get to what they want to get to on the offensive side of the ball, because it’s just an easy switch and then we flatten out the offense and it’s right back to square one.”
So, as long as the minutes are there, is Nurse right? Do you preserve the undeniable punch that Boucher & Achiuwa bring off the bench? Is this, as small as it is, a bench worth preserving? Maybe. And if it is, then the Raptors at least have the start of something they rarely had last season – and that’s before Otto Porter Jr. comes back healthy. And who knows, maybe Koloko will follow the blueprint of early starter- 905 legend – max player that Siakam laid out, and all to protect a bench worth protecting. We can only be so lucky.
Have a blessed day.
