TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors improved to 2-0 with a 128-94 win over the Philadelphia 76ers as they get ready to head out on a season-high six-game road trip that includes San Antonio, Golden State – a wee respite against the Los Angeles Lakers – before a tour of three other potential Western Conference playoff contenders. A split would be good work as the competition is a huge jump from a depleted Chicago Bulls team and the Sixers, who didn’t come to compete Saturday.
Here are five things we took away from Saturday’s game.
Ibaka quietly leaving his mark
Remember Serge Ibaka? Remember when he was acquired at the trade deadline and it seemed like the Raptors finally had an additional all-star caliber player to compliment DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry? Ya, him – the only player in the NBA last year to have more than 100 threes and more than 100 blocks while shooting 40 per cent from three. He’s been overlooked in the early going this year, treated like he’s old news. Easy to forget that he’s just finished his first training camp with Toronto and is still trying to synchronize with what is really still a new team to him. He’s looking pretty comfortable so far. Knocked down a couple of threes against Chicago and had some outstanding looks early against Philadelphia that didn’t fall before he converted just past five minutes left in the half. That was just the Raptors third triple in 15 mostly open attempts on their way to 4-of-18 for the half. Ibaka got another early in the third quarter that seemed to get the lid off the basket for Raptors not named DeRozan. He’s a luxury item the Raptors are lucky to have and finished 5-of-9 from deep.
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DeRozan silences Game 1 critics
A lot of chatter about DeMar DeRozan after opening night was his ability to integrate his role as play-maker while finding ways to score. I thought it was a little over-blown to begin with — we’re talking about giving up perhaps two or four field goal attempts a game for a guy who he averaged 20.9 shots a game last year, and against Chicago he simply looked a little out of sync. Not so against Philadelphia. The post-game was there. The ability to fake guys off balance and draw fouls? It’s still there. When the Raptors were in the desert from three early on DeRozan’s personal parade to the foul line kept Toronto lubricated. By the time he knocked down his 12th and 13th free throws midway through the third quarter he had scored 23 points on eight shots on his way to 30 points in 27 minutes. There was some concern about him having an upset stomach before the game, he proved he can still make defences queasy.
Anunoby showing impressive confidence
Can we acknowledge OG Anunoby’s floor game? His ability to not only to play the game but think the game and the confidence to make plays as a result? That’s by far the most impressive element of what we’ve seen in the early going from the rookie, which is all the more remarkable given that he was supposed to be just getting ready to resume basketball activities in preparation for December. He catches it at the top, up-fakes, drives under control before finding an open Jakob Poeltl. He pulls the ball down in his own end, leading multiple fast breaks and making the right decisions in transition. He looks completely comfortable bodying up 6-foot-10 Philadelphia super-rookie Ben Simmons, which should be a fun battle to watch for about a decade or so. Anunoby looked so smart catching a ball in motion to the rim from Delon Wright, gathering and spitting out a bullet for a Kyle Lowry three-ball that ended the third quarter and gave Toronto a 102-71 lead. It was Lowry who drew the P.J. Tucker comparisons to Anunoby after the first game of the season. That will be selling him well short by the time he’s done, and maybe even by Christmas.
Young 76ers still looking for chemistry
The Philadelphia 76ers have a long way to go. You wonder if all that losing has allowed them to let go of the rope a little easier. That’s seems to be what happened Saturday night. We’ll see. It makes sense to be excited given the talent level and when Joel Embiid is playing he gives them an element that is unique, obviously. But he was sitting out on the second-night of a back-to-back and I’m not sure he’ll ever play 2,400 minutes in a season. Ben Simmons is a talent but it won’t be long before defences figure out how to exploit his shooting flaws and Markelle Fultz looks like he’s got the yips at the free-throw line, and you have a whole roster of guys at the same stage in their career, trying to establish themselves, which can be tricky. The Process is still a work-in-progress.
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Nogueira, Poeltl have good showing after Valanciunas leaves with injury
Jonas Valanciunas’ second-quarter ankle sprain was ill-timed given how well he’s been playing to start the season. But it didn’t look like a really bad one given his left ankle didn’t take his whole weight when he came down of Dario Saric’s foot. His legs were wide and he was landing evenly so hopefully in won’t be an injury that will take more than a week to get back to full strength. But in the meantime, what a treat to have both Lucas Nogueira and Poeltl to fill in at the five spot, with Pascal Siakam able to soak up minutes if needed. Bebe was excellent in the third quarter and Poeltl was outstanding all game. JV can take his time.
