Raptors get reality check vs. Cavaliers as playoff push continues
Posted Feb 27, 2023 11:15:00 AM.
The Toronto Raptors' hopes of storming to the playoffs are great on paper, but the problem when you take it to the wood is that there are some pretty good teams out there.
The Raptors are going to see plenty of them in the coming weeks. The Chicago Bulls are looking like a different team since the all-star break – improbably the best defensive team in the league (small sample and all that) – and are all-in on making the play-in at least and visit Toronto Tuesday. The Raptors then have a pair of games in Washington against a similarly motivated Wizards team that is just behind them in the standings. Then it’s out west for the Denver Nuggets, and then both the Clippers and the Lakers. The vastly improved Oklahoma City Thunder are waiting for them when they get back and the the West-leading Nuggets again.
And as well as Toronto has played recently and as much encouragement the presence of Jakob Poeltl has provided, winning games against good teams hasn’t been a strong point this season. They were 14-24 against teams with .500 records or better heading into their Sunday night visit to Cleveland and they looked the part as the Cavaliers beat them in every quarter and for all four quarters in a 118-93 drubbing.
take in the footwork ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/4H9SaSUKkU
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) February 26, 2023
The win improved Cleveland to 39-25 a kept them firmly in grasp of a home seed when the playoffs start while the Raptors fell to 30-32 as their season-best four-game winning streak was halted at four games.
“We have been doing a much better job of everything defensively and we were just a step slow tonight on everything,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse. “They got us back on our heels on everything: transition, guarding the ball screen and rolling [to the rim]. It was a a big difference I think just in energy and intensity.”
The Raptors were playing without second-leading scorer Fred VanVleet who missed his third straight game after the birth of his third child, and it showed.
Sure the Raptors had their hand’s full defensively against Cleveland as Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland were able to get to pretty much where they wanted, with Mitchell unloading for 35 points and eight threes on 13-of-21 shooting and Garland finished with 18 points and 11 assists. Helped by Jarrett Allen’s 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting, Cleveland was shooting 53.8 per cent from the floor and 17-of-32 from three before garbage time kicked in with Cleveland leading by 30 midway through the fourth quarter.
“They hit some really tough shots, and their both really quick guards that are able to get in the lane and can kick out and create shots, but they also create their own shots,” said Barnes, who spent a fair bit of time guarding Garland, but ended up doing too much chasing and not catching. “We messed up some coverages early and they made some open shots and that’s how they got going early.”
Before the game, Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the Raptors defensive physicality was a reason his club had lost three games this season to Toronto. That wasn’t a problem Sunday night. Mitchell seemed exceptionally comfortable, even with Raptors defensive ace Anunoby assigned to the task.
“He’s a great player, he’s very quick,” said Anunoby. “All you can do is keep trying to make it difficult for him.”
Turns out it wasn’t very difficult.
So Toronto’s defence was an issue. But the Raptors' struggles to score against the NBA’s third-ranked defence was a factor too. A day after Toronto couldn’t crack the century mark against the bottom-feeding Detroit Pistons, that the Raptors couldn’t keep pace with Cleveland offensively is worth noting. They were stuck on 85 points after 42 minutes when the coaches subbed out their respective starters. For the game Toronto shot just 30 per cent from the floor and made just nine threes.
Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 25 points but needed 24 shots to do it even after going 4-of-7 from deep, but he had no help. Scottie Barnes stalled out at 12 points; Gary Trent Jr. was 2-of-13 and O.G. Anunoby took only seven shots in 34 minutes. Poeltl was fine, with 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists, but he wasn’t acquired to solve Toronto’s shaky half-court offense.
.@pskills43 is feelin’ it
