Throughout the 2016-17 NBA season we’ll take a look back at the week that was and set up the week to come in Raptorland.
After a stretch that saw them go an amazing 14-2 between the end of November right up until Boxing Day, the Toronto Raptors have fallen back to earth.
Though they still haven’t lost three straight since early November 2015 – a remarkable accomplishment – the Raptors have won just twice in their last seven games and come away losers in three of their last four.
There are a couple of logical explanations for the slide. The long road trip, due to Toronto hosting the world juniors, has obviously taken a toll on the team and their schedule has been just plain brutal thus far with very little opportunity them to find any downtime that doesn’t involve hopping on a plane.
For evidence, just look at the last three games: After six straight west coast matchups, they returned home for one game only to head back out to play the Chicago Bulls – a contest that went to overtime – and then immediately returned to Toronto to face off against the Houston Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back.
Additionally, injury woes have factored in, with Patrick Patterson missing four games through the stretch mentioned above. This threw the Raptors’ rotation into disarray, and put more pressure on the likes of Pascal Siakam – who head coach Dwane Casey says is hitting the rookie wall – and Lucas Nogueira. Both are intriguing young big men, but definitely can’t match what Patterson brings to the table.
Patterson’s return on Sunday means injuries won’t be as big a factor going forward, though he was put under a minutes limitation Sunday and it’s unclear when that will be lifted. Siakam and Nogueira could still be prominently featured.
While all of these factors can make sense of why the Raptors are struggling of late, the team isn’t particularly special in that regard—fatigue and injuries are a reality every team in the NBA must deal with.
The fact of the matter is, as has been the case all season, the Raptors’ defence simply hasn’t been good enough. Exhaustion and the injury to Patterson have slowed down the Raptors’ offence a little bit and that’s been the primary reason why they’ve been losing more consistently.
Toronto still relies far too much on its offence, and this seven-game span has once again exposed the concerning reality that if they are unable to continue posting NBA-leading offensive efficiency numbers on a night-to-night basis, then they’re going to lose.
Millsap-mania
It’s been a full week of non-stop talk and speculation, so by now you should know the pros and cons involved in making a deal for Paul Millsap.
So then, Raptors fans, should they do it or not?
