TORONTO — Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse talks about rhythm a lot. Lately, about his team’s lack of it, and the problems it can create when it comes and goes.
You didn’t have to look hard to see those problems Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena, where the Raptors were slowly bled out, 112-92, by Kawhi Leonard’s Los Angeles Clippers. Possessions that spun their wheels around and around on the way to nowhere. Shots that refused to fall. Defensive disorganization. Hands on the hips of frustrated players. Long looks from beneath towelled heads on the bench.
Yeah, the Raptors are in a slump. It began a little more than a week ago — immediately following that resounding victory over the Utah Jazz which seemed at the time like a summit rather than a cliff — with a dispiriting overtime loss to the Miami Heat. Five games later, the Raptors are still sliding.
To be fair, the competition’s been fierce, with the Raptors dropping games to four of the NBA’s top-10 teams over that span. But Toronto’s lone victory over those five, an onerous one-point triumph over the lowly Chicago Bulls, was far from convincing. And the fashion in which they’ve fallen in their losses can’t be filed under encouraging.
“We’ve got to play with more effort on defence. When the shots are not falling, we’ve got to do a better job of stopping the other team,” said Pascal Siakam. “If we’re not making shots and they score every time, that’s not going to work.”
Toronto’s slump is personified by Siakam, whose current level of play is remarkable when viewed in the context of where he was only two seasons ago, yet disappointing considering the heights he reached mere weeks ago.
He’s been passive at times and forced looks at others. Wednesday, he was better than he’s been, but still not where he needs to be, scoring 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting. He was remarkable during that emphatic win over the Jazz, with 35 points on only 27 used possessions. But since, for both himself and his team, it’s been a struggle.
“I don’t think our energy overall has been good. Like, as a team,” Siakam said. “We’ve got to find a way. Because that’s how we play when we’re at our best — when we have energy, we’re flying around. That’s Toronto basketball. We’ve got to play that way.”
It’s a game of adjustments, isn’t it? Opponents are varying their defensive coverages on Siakam — sending blitzes, setting traps, and funnelling him to areas of the floor he doesn’t love. It happens when you spend the first quarter of the season authoring extensive game tape of yourself at your most dangerous. Have you noticed how every Siakam spin move from either side of the basket is now met with a help defender taking away his lane? Defences are learning.
One has to wonder if fatigue is an issue as well. Siakam’s usage rate has soared eight percentage points this season following a 2018-19 campaign in which he played over 100 games. He was already being asked to shoulder a considerable load both offensively and defensively last year. Leonard’s departure didn’t exactly decrease those demands, either.
Considering all that, a rut like the one Siakam appears to be in now is understandable. It’s hard to be the guy every night. And it’s on the rest of the Raptors to not only pick up some of his slack during this period, but find creative avenues to open up his game.
Neither has happened often enough. Fred VanVleet’s shooting and playmaking would be helpful, but he’s been watching in a suit due to a knee contusion. Marc Gasol’s a sublime passer, but the Raptors aren’t running enough hard, aggressive cuts into the paint for him to create anything. And Kyle Lowry’s still trying to regain his sea legs following a lengthy injury absence.
“I’ve had two good games and the rest have been s—, to be honest,” Lowry said after going 1-of-8 from the field, and 0-of-7 from distance, against the Clippers. “I’m just trying to work my way in and trying to figure it out, and get better over time. But right now, I’m nowhere near where I want to be physically and where I need to be.”
Of course, it’s not only Lowry who’s struggling from beyond the arc. Toronto’s 40-per-cent rate from range — the NBA’s best at the time — began regressing at the start of this skid and simply hasn’t stopped. It now stands at 37.5 per cent after the Raptors missed 28 of the 36 three-pointers they attempted against the Clippers.
It was a little ridiculous at times. On a single possession in the second quarter, the Raptors bricked four consecutive open threes before Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was called for a highly questionable loose ball foul as he came down with what would have been his team’s fourth offensive rebound during the run of play. It was Hollis-Jefferson’s fourth foul in five minutes and he was understandably incensed. Nurse was, too, and received a technical foul as he protested the call well into a timeout.
What’s worse is Toronto’s periods of offensive ineffectiveness often led to defensive breakdowns at the other end, as the Raptors carried their shooting woes back down the court with them. That’s how a tied game two minutes into the second quarter became an 18-point Clippers lead by halftime. And how a deficit the Raptors had cut down to five with less than four minutes remaining in the third was suddenly stretched to 17 by the start of the fourth.
“You’d like to say you can’t live in your offence, you’ve still got to play. But when it’s a few games in a row, it’s a little deflating,” Nurse said. “And I think it deflated us tonight.”
Still, it’s not all bad. Siakam’s averaging 20 and eight over his “slump.” Gasol’s stellar defence has compensated for some quiet offensive performances. Norman Powell’s doing everything he can to earn more opportunities whenever he’s on the floor, for better or worse. And there’s been inspired stretches from OG Anunoby, who’s spent his first 23 games of the season burning the tapes of his calamitous sophomore campaign.
Plus, the schedule gets softer from here, which will give Toronto an opportunity to chip back onto the fairway. We knew the Raptors weren’t as effortlessly good as they appeared to be a couple weeks ago when they rattled off seven straight wins and thumped Utah. Just as they aren’t as painfully ineffective as they’ve looked since. Shooting, energy, cohesiveness — it comes and goes. Rhythm does, too.
“We’re in a period where we haven’t been playing very well for about a week. And it’s strange. Last Monday against Utah, we may have played the best half of basketball we’ve ever seen in this building,” Nurse said. “So, things can change quickly. It’s a fine line between things. We’ve just got to get back to who we are, which is very good defensively, and ball movement, and a good shooting team. And we’ll do that.”
[relatedlinks]
