If you thought this was about a fantastical game, the likes of which you’ve never seen before, then I’m sorry to say it isn’t. This is about the Raptors losing yet another game in a similar fashion to how they’ve been losing them all season, and paying attention to the good stuff.
At 23-29, the Raptors continue to underwhelm all pre-season expectations. Roster continuity (basically, minutes continuity) is supposed to be one of the best predictors of success, wins, in the following season, and the Raptors returned all of their guys. Sure, Otto Porter Jr. lost his toe and we’ll see if he ever finds it, but there was supposed to be a winning roster sitting in front of us. Do you fall back on their inflated net-rating as evidence of a push forward? You shouldn’t. Why is it inflated? Well, the Raptors have been whittling down opposing teams margins of victory and jacking up their own by playing their best players longer and harder. This is how the team with the 14th best net-rating has the 6th worst record in the NBA. I’ve been searching, and many other people have as well, but there just isn’t a lot of indicators that this team is good. Most say they’re bad.
“Obviously, I’m always gonna give credit to the opponent. They’re a tough team and they’ve got guys that play hard. They were pretty keyed in, and I just thought we started a little sloppy, a little loose.” VanVleet said after the loss. “Just didn’t have that same punch right from the get-go.”
Recurring themes this season: Effort, attention to detail, anything remotely related to intangibles. So much so, that Nick Nurse has gotten angry at being asked about it. However, he and the rest of the team continue to return to that as an answer to questions about their failures. Specific answers about this team’s failures might be too revealing about how oddly built the roster is. Wouldn’t want that.
Yet another game where Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam’s games don’t dovetail, but diverge. Yet another game where the defense finds its foothold for 3 minutes at a time, but loses it over longer stretches. Yet another game where you have to walk away trying to make sense of a talented roster that continues to fail. At the very least, we can walk away from this one thinking about Precious Achiuwa and Scottie Barnes. Both of whom, continue to show their massive potential.
Barnes played a couple of the hits with his all too familiar shoulder shimmy before the quick turn into a finish. The long, loping steps after catching a pass from Siakam on a 45-cut and the feverish pursuit of his own miss, and then the next miss, and then the next miss, and then the next miss before finishing with the tap-in. Sliding on the baseline from sideline to sideline, searching for a way to be present in Siakam’s iso, and eventually finding his way to an offensive rebound and a put-back. Finding the angle for VanVleet’s dump-off pass, seeing it cut off, finding a different angle, then dunking it home. Finally, a soaring finish on the roll as Cam Johnson tried to step up in the lane for a charge. Barnes tilts himself sideways, reaches all the way to the glass, and gently lays the ball in.
And the more complicated stuff, like the early offense screen from Achiuwa that got Barnes an edge, where he picked up his dribble as he turned the corner — which is typically a huge no-no — and somehow turned that into a dart to Siakam under the rim all in one motion. This play is usually designed for VanVleet to come off of the ensuing Achiuwa screen and get the ball coming downhill. Barnes audibles into a layup. It was almost as if he’d seen the future and was following the necessary motions to arrive at it. Or, how about when he drove the ball down the middle in transition, then chose the lane that would force Dario Saric to step up into space that Thad Young was about to pass through? No fancy dribble moves, no explosion, just moving into space with a live dribble and understanding where the defense will follow. Tremendous.
Barnes continues to provide a delightful watch in the small spots, and in the big ones. His possessions, as odd as they can look at times, provide returns that no one else on the roster (and few players across the league) can match. It’s been particularly helpful that he’s stepped up his game as Siakam’s slump continues.
And Achiuwa, who’s been providing all the wonderful comforts that a big man is supposed to while also providing the occasional feast for the eyes when it comes to his talent. He is one of the NBA’s most athletic players. Cross reference size, burst, foot speed, strength, balance and see how many players come back with a more impressive collection of those things. Ho-hum offensive plays like setting an improvisational flare for VanVleet (that never materializes) before slithering his way into the paint and finding an offensive rebound for a put back. The small Chris Paul on you? Flash middle, catch at the free throw line and muscle your way into a push shot that should’ve been an and-1. Punish the smalls in a way that Ayton seemed reluctant to. Then finally, iso against Ayton on the wing, jump stop to your spot, spin, and step through for a bucket. Very reminiscent of a great play against Joel Embiid, even if it was the opposite side of the floor.
Since he started getting regular minutes again (the last 12 games), he’s been averaging 14 & 7 on 57-percent shooting from the floor and 38-percent from three. He’s winning a lot of his minutes over that stretch, and most importantly, he’s played 27 minutes per game. You can’t exclude Achiuwa from your vision of a Raptors team in the future, or the present. It was weird the way his minutes got jerked around in the early season, it was weird that he was called out a couple times by Nurse, but he’s here now. And the Raptors are so much better with him in the fold.
I know everyone is sitting on their hands and waiting patiently for the trade deadline and what comes with it. A new direction? More of the same? Who knows? But, at the very least, Barnes and Achiuwa are worth your time regardless of what happens with the team.
Have a blessed day.
