10 things: Raptors still searching for answers after dropping Game 2

Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors‘ 112-97 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

1. The Raptors are still searching for answers. The same problems that tanked them in the series opener remain, which is why the Sixers are off to a 2-0 series lead. The Raptors staked their reputation on defence this season, and finally caught up to it toward the end of the season, but they have come undone. The Sixers are scoring far too easily for the Raptors to keep up, and when their own offence inevitably dries up, they are left incapable of mounting sustained comebacks since their defence isn’t set. This won’t even be a series until they defend.

2. It was bad from the start. The Raptors came out resilient and took an 8-0 lead, but only won the first quarter by a single point because they could not contain the Sixers. Once again, the Sixers shoot over 50 per cent from the field, better than 40 per cent from deep, and paraded to the foul line where they nearly shot 90 per cent. The Raptors are too leaky, too sloppy in their rotations, and quite frankly the Sixers have countered everything they have tried. The game plan has been to funnel the offence towards their third and fourth options, but through two games, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris have combined for 107 points on 57 shots. It’s too simplistic to say that the entire defensive game plan is to make the other guys beat you, but that is exactly what is happening right now. What the Raptors have to decide is whether or not they can afford to ease up on the pressure they are bringing against star players to stop Maxey and Harris.

3. Foul shooting is becoming a major topic in this series, which was always inevitable with Joel Embiid and James Harden as a pairing. The Sixers hold a 64-35 advantage in foul shots through two games, with Embiid shooting as many free throws in the first quarter as the Raptors did for the entire game (12). The temptation is to blame the officials, or to decry the shamelessness in which Harden and Embiid draw fouls, but the discrepancy signals a bigger issue. The Raptors have not been solid defensively and consistently are in positions where they have to take the foul. Embiid ran riot over the team early on, seemingly spurred on by a collision that sent him crashing to the deck, and is individually capable of overwhelming single defenders. Meanwhile in the case of Harden, he is more so tricking the officials into calling rip through moves or subtly hooking a defender’s arm to simulate a reach-in foul. Nevertheless, the only solution is to be more disciplined against both players. When they actually end up shooting the ball, neither one has been efficient, but they’re being bailed out by the Raptors’ mistakes.

4. Fred VanVleet took responsibility and said he needed to play better after the loss. VanVleet was red hot at the start, drilling four threes and a darting layup around Embiid for 15 points in the first quarter but fell off hard. He was 2-for-16 for five points the rest of the way, which included several missed shots on open threes. The most likely answer is that fatigue caught up to him, because VanVleet was being asked to help on defence nearly every trip down, while also sticking with Maxey, and then having to initiate the offence on the other end. It’s a tiring job for a smaller player, especially one who struggles to score in the paint, so these types of inefficient outings are hardly surprising. But some of this is also on Nick Nurse to pace him better. He played the entire first half, sat for the final four minutes of the third quarter, before returning for the full fourth quarter. VanVleet is known to be operating on a bad knee, but even a fully healthy player would need more rest that that. He’s carrying too heavy of a load and it’s a losing battle.

5. Pascal Siakam is carrying a similar load. He’s being asked to create the entire offence, while also being tasked with the help defensive rotations at the basket and rebounding. Siakam’s endurance has been one of his most impressive traits this year, but he also looked noticeably tired. He missed a handful of layups in the fourth quarter and looked disengaged defensively by the end. It might be unrealistic to expect him to attack all game, but that’s what the Raptors need from him. He was great to start in the two-man game with VanVleet, but can he maintain it? Siakam doesn’t need to take the shot every time, but he’s the one who gets into the paint with the most reliability, and he can set the table for other players. The outside jumper is there for him if nothing else is open, but Siakam settled for it a bit too often today.

6. Nurse looks out of ideas. The plan seemed to be to ride his main guys until the wheels fell off, and a sprinkling of box-and-one against Harden when Embiid sat, but beyond that there was nothing particularly innovative in his approach. His options were very limited with Scottie Barnes wearing a foot brace, Thad Young completely ineffective, and Gary Trent Jr. having absolutely nothing in the tank due to an ongoing illness. But at the same time, the Raptors have adapted all season without a full complement of players, so it’s curious to see them so pressed. Defensively, there is still no progress on how the Raptors are executing their coverages since Embiid remains a massive issue, while the Sixers supporting players keep scoring, and all the fouling is throwing Nurse’s lineups completely out of whack. He spends the entire game in the ears of the officials, who showed their patience by not assessing a technical foul, and even Embiid called out Nurse’s protesting in the post-game interviews. It takes one to know one, perhaps.

7. OG Anunoby was a bright spot in this game. He showed a capacity to create his own shot in a game where the Raptors badly needed someone to step up around VanVleet and Siakam. Anunoby played the team game as usual, knocking down open threes and capitalizing in transition, but there were also stretches in the second half where he took it upon himself to create. It helps that he nailed some tough looks, including a contested stepback three well beyond the arc to beat the shot clock, but the more dependable looks were the drives where Anunoby got into the paint, used his size advantage, and became a third option on the night. Similar to how the Raptors overload against Embiid and Harden. the Sixers do the same to shut off Siakam and VanVleet, which leaves Anunoby in single coverage against weaker defenders. He needs to match at least one of Harris or Maxey for scoring.

8. Chris Boucher bounced back from a no-show in Game 1. Boucher took himself out of the first game by committing three fouls in four minutes, then fouling out in 15. This time around, he was much more disciplined with one foul in 30 minutes, and served as the Raptors’ sixth man with Nurse turning to Boucher early in both the first and third quarters to spell Trent Jr.’s spot in the starting five. Boucher accentuates most of the Raptors’ strengths, those being speed in transition, persistence on the offensive glass, and disruptiveness on defence. Boucher collected five putbacks, a spot-up three, and two rolls to the basket. On the other end, he recorded two blocks, and drew two offensive fouls on Embiid, including him standing in tough as Embiid raked two elbows across his chin. This series is a good matchup for Boucher and so long as he limits his mistakes, he will be a positive contributor who should see extended minutes.

9. The silver lining in the defence is how the Raptors covered Harden. He got free for a stepback three — his third of the series against Trent Jr. — and hooked and crooked his way to some bogus calls against Anunoby. But for the most part, Harden was a passenger in the win. He still hasn’t shown an ability to score reliably in the paint off drives, so much so that even Malachi Flynn contained him, and his playmaking was neutralized to a larger degree with only six assists against five turnovers. The Raptors showed more of an understanding that Harden is looking to distribute, and that the goal is to not overreact. They still have to be more diligent on the Sixers’ supporting cast, and just tougher overall against Embiid, but Harden did far less damage in this game as compared to the opener.

10. Beyond the strategies and matchups, the Raptors have to do a better job of managing their frustrations. It can’t be easy to be in their shoes right now between the foul calls, the extended droughts, the fatigue, and the loss of three rotation players in short order. But no matter what’s happening, the best course of action needs to be to stay level-headed. The game got away from the Raptors when their shots stopped dropping, and they doubled down on playing isolation basketball and lacking floor balance which compromised their transition defence. This isn’t even on the young guys, either, as even the leaders in VanVleet and Siakam were pressing. No matter how badly things are going, they need to remain positive and play as a team, or it will just keep snowballing.