How often does a game like this come along? Where everyone plays their existing role to a T, and still finds time to flash progression? Is it likely to inspire in us, the same things it did in Gary Trent Jr.: “We put our five against anybody’s five, we should be good.” Pack up the conversations about a starting lineup change if Pascal Siakam is going to step on game plans and bury threes with flair. You don’t need one of Chris Boucher or Precious Achiuwa to punish the offensive glass when there’s no rebounds to be had.
“Well, he went against my theory tonight. Whenever he makes three threes, I said he scores thirty.” Nick Nurse said of Siakam after the win. “He made four in a row to start, he was on his way to thirty. I think he had 15 In the first half — but he really again, I mean, he’s a good shooter — You know, I just, I still say it’s a matter of time before that really shows in the season. Right? The technique is great. He really works on it. He really hits a high percentage in his workouts and things.”
The first portion of the game truly can be told by Siakam’s shooting. The 76ers were expecting to engage Siakam’s mind the way that the Heat did. Sit back, rely on sturdy help principles, and ask Siakam to find impossible routes to the paint or to hit contested 17-footers. They played zone, they played pack-line defense, and they went under screens – he beat all of it.
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This shooting, mixed with the insertion of everyone’s favourite bench duo: Boucher & Achiuwa, had the Raptors jumping out to a commanding lead. Mostly, on the back of seven made triples. With Joel Embiid’s attempts to play for Team France, the Raptors treated him like a new age Maginot Line and instead of contending with his imposing size and power, they found another way. On the other side of things, the Raptors maintained pretty good form and discipline defensively. When advantageous, they would front Embiid, double on the catch, or leave him in single coverage. They successfully blitzed James Harden, and ran Tobias Harris off the line into no man’s land. Those are all massive wins for a defense. However, they couldn’t stick Tyrese Maxey; which ended up being fine, because the Raptors were doing everything else so well. The devil you know, or something – and the Raptors are well aware of how devastating Maxey’s scoring can be in combination with others.
Yeah, I thought offensively we were really good tonight in a lot a lot of areas, right? We got transition buckets and we really moved the ball. I mean 32 (assists) is probably indicative of how we moved the ball. I thought we had some of our best possessions where there was some great ball movement, and we didn’t end up with anything in but I think it was just really making the right reads. I thought we did a good job with our spacing. We got a few cuts in there mixed in and it was a low turnover night too for most of the game.
Nick Nurse on the Raptors offense
With the Raptors navigating the 76ers defense with aplomb, the 76ers changed course. Several times. Scottie Barnes has all the requisite skills to zone bust, so he did. Then the 76ers played box and one to stick him, and he still shook loose for a cut that led to a dunk. In transition, he was sublime. That, oh so perfect, connective piece. Powerful enough to dominate in an isolation, brilliant when cutting, rapid when processing passing reads, and savant-like in transition. He quietly supported every action the Raptors ran on offense, and every schematic wrinkle they used on defense.
When it comes to Trent Jr., this was his third game in a row reaching double-digit 3-point attempts. There’s an acknowledgment in how he’s moving off-ball, that it will find him. Behaving in good faith as a shooter is important, and when you play with Siakam? It’s potent. Bobbing and weaving behind the 3-point line, Trent Jr. fueled a 27-point heater with his jumper and availability. No rebounds, no assists, he was out there for one purpose: shoot.
“He gets a lot of attention, they talk about him in the game plan and prep for him.” Trent Jr. said of Siakam after the victory. “You see it in the way they play, they’re sending two at him, trying to get the ball out of his hands. Obviously, I’m trying to make it easier for him in a sense, just be there and catch and shoot, do as much as I can.”
Whether it was a result of Siakam’s gravity, or the unsuccessful zones that Philly was throwing out, he succeeded. Trent Jr.’s shot creation whims are still on display — a slick behind the back on Harden before hitting a floater was notable — but, the big difference has to be how many C&S threes he’s getting. When you have a shooter of this caliber, letting them settle into hitting rhythm shots? It’s ideal.
Speaking of that high-level shooter, let’s talk Fred VanVleet. He is the netting under Siakam’s tight-wire act. The fact that VanVleet is averaging a career high in assists, despite seeing much less of the ball? Credit Siakam, of course, but credit VanVleet for being really clinical as a connective passer after the defense has been broken down. That’s been the case for much of these five games to start the Raptors season, but tonight’s was slightly different in a positive way. The 76ers have a lot of offensive firepower, and as they threatened runs late in the game VanVleet stymied them. A snatch-back triple, and a C&S look served as the perfect stiff arm to a few made threes from their opponents. Selfless when necessary, selfish when necessary.
The Raptors defensive backbone was, of course, present in this one. O.G. Anunoby not only continued to make tremendous reads as a defender, but we saw half his makes come as a result of his own dribble. One, a gap punched for a thunderous dunk, but the other two were courtesy of his own creation. An isolation for a layup on Tobias Harris from the baseline, and a corner DHO where he came off the screen so tight that I could cry. He kept Harris on his back, deftly sidestepped Embiid’s step up into space, and found his spot for a push shot. Certainly not ‘3 and D’ stuff. Some clever cutting against the zone, and a couple run outs in transition rounded out his scoring, but you saw almost everything you’d like to from Anunoby.
Despite not playing his largest amount of minutes, Christian Koloko comes away with his best performance of the season. He fit right into the Raptors defensive approach with his country mate, Embiid, even jumping a pass for a dunk (taking only 1-dribble from his 3-point line to the opposing basket) and flexing great timing for an out-of-nowhere block at the bucket. All this, in the first NBA game to ever feature 3 players from Cameroon. Historic, truly.
No one can come close to weaving a storyline or a fact as important as the anecdote about Siakam, Embiid, and Koloko. But, the rare thing about this game was that there was meaning for everyone who partook on the Raptors. Some statement, progression, or accomplishment was had by all. No injuries, no bad vibes, and room enough for everyone to craft a narrative of their own.
Of course, they’re all housed under this one: Everything went right.
Have a blessed day.
