Raptors’ disappointing homestand: What we learned

Toronto — in the lowest key, a game against the Raptors Atlanta Saturday was especially important.

Depending on how quickly a particular player recovers from injury, especially phoenixof Devin Booker When Minnesotaof Karl-Anthony Towns — raptors You could be the betting line underdog in 9 out of the next 10 games. The Raptors have played eight of his 5-13 games away. This pushes the team to the brink of a trade deadline.

The Raptors flopped, losing 114-103 to the Atlanta Hawks and never came within seven points in the fourth quarter. pretty dysfunctional, team. To the point that any game in January is a must-win, this was it. The Raptors were bad on both ends of the ball.

“We’ve come a long way to have some consistency,” coach Nick Nurse said after the game. I wanted it, but it didn’t look like we had very good energy to start the game tonight.”

Or really. With a few exceptions, the Raptors failed to string together more than one stop that night. Here’s what I learned, or re-learned, from the Raptors’ six-game homestand.

Scotty Barnes has found his role/role (for now)

Scotty Burns I found his role in this year’s team. Forget point guard. Burns is a screen setting bully.

You know VIBES 🤟 pic.twitter.com/BzdEz3oTaY

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 13, 2023

Using Barnes as a screener has always been a smart way to take advantage of his passing while his handle and shot are still developing. I started using more pick and rolls when I saw the . That put Barnes in situations where he used his size and passing to make quicker decisions.

Barnes had a 30-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio during the homestand.

Barnes said he’s focused on moving the ball side to side and making it easier to move it that way. It’s not a goal in itself, so he can’t fully focus on it. At times, especially in the Milwaukee-New York game, Barnes was too content to make the next pass instead of using his dribble to eat up space and move the defense that way.in the 4th quarter milwaukee, he has shown that he can surpass some of the best rim protectors in the league. Over time, it should have a positive impact on crime.

That said, Burns has been more influential in this role than he has been throughout the season. The longer he’s in it, the better sense he’ll get in finding that balance.

The Atlanta game was something else for Barnes. Because Atlanta usually didn’t center. Onyeka Okonwu To him. After a rough first quarter, Barnes found multiple opportunities to overwhelm some smaller defenders. Last year we did it often, but this year we weren’t able to do it reliably. Although he only had 2 assists, he had 27 points and 12 rebounds. Maybe focusing on a different role opened up possibilities in his game that were lacking in the first half of the season.

defense doesn’t work

With nothing stopping a reliable 25-minute overnight rim protector, the Raptors’ defensive potential is limited to a simple OK. Not even that this year. That is the main reason they are in their current position.

Nurse recently made a solid adjustment so that the second unit returns to zone positioning on defensive transitions rather than spotting opponents. It helped them clean things up a bit.

Unfortunately, the Raptors don’t let their opponents make enough mistakes on halfcourt. The lack of a one-on-one defender limits the usefulness of switching.

(The Raptors played two games Hornetsthe average of these two games was used to calculate the difference and mean. (League ranking in brackets)

Against the Hawks Fred VanVleet Had one of the worst defensive games of the season — and he was well below his standards for most of the season. Dejounte Murray I bullied him to repeat the short jumper, Trae Young was going through him at his speed. The Raptors generally prefer VanVleet to defend off the ball, so he’s free to make deft plays in the paint, but a dynamic guard like Atlanta’s makes him a two-man team. On the other hand, it is more difficult to achieve.

Defense was supposed to be the strength of this team. it’s not. The Raptors will never be offensively stable enough to get away with that level of reliability.

Precious Achiuwa is Coming

Besides Barnes, Precious AchiuwaAn ankle injury kept him out of most of the first half.

Achiuwa had a ridiculously chaotic run in Charlotte’s first game. One of the Most Irresponsible Field Goal Attempts you will ever see Achiuwa then snapped into place, like himself late last year, he hit his 3s 4 of 9 but more importantly with poor control It is that I put a powerful move into the paint.

.@Scott Burns561 🤝 @PreciousAchiuwa pic.twitter.com/9pBkVlpjWe

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 13, 2023

Defensively, Achiuwa has as many strengths as any other roster. OG Anunoby.

The first five are still problematic, mostly for defensive reasons. If this pace continues, Uwa Achi may have his turn sooner or later.

OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. are quality starters, not game changers on this team

Gary Trent Jr.He and Anunoby helped stabilize the Raptors’ offense, and their numbers bounced back from the deep despite the final two games of 2018. Trent has been at the center of several heavy reserve units that have been solid for the team, and Anunoby is back in very reliable mode.

However, the defense is still very bad, so it’s important to recognize the drawbacks as well. Anunoby has very little defensively, but he’s still adventurous when it comes to the team’s biggest turnover—his risk going into the paint. The defense cannot afford a live ball turnover. Torrents are high risk, high return defenders. Anunoby isn’t, but he’s still at his best when he can take some chances.

The Raptors don’t have a rim protector that would allow Anunoby and Trent to have a reasonable Plan B while actually chasing it. There is no consistency or variety as aggressively as changing to .

It makes me think about the near future.

this team is not good enough

The Raptors are healthy all year long. They made six homestands and were favored in five of them.

In the end, they were 3-3 with a plus/minus total of 16. They made a doomed late-game comeback with all three losses accounting for a good chunk of that positive difference.

The Raptors needed to build a key position during this stretch. they didn’t. Masai Ujiri and the front office do not have to be forced, but are obliged to explore the market as sellers over the next few weeks.

(Photo: Atlanta’s Trae Young driving between Raptors’ Precious Achiuwa and Scotty Barnes late on Saturday: Christopher Katsarov / The Canadian Press via Associated Press)