TORONTO TIPS OFF NBA TITLE DEFENCE IN WINNING FASHION
It took some time, extra time in fact, and it probably should have given an indication of what went on before, but the Toronto Raptors found their game in plenty of time to make the opener a successful one on all fronts.
The season opener goes in the books as a 130-122 overtime win.
The banner unveiling and the ring handouts went off without a hitch. The same could not be said for the early on-court performance by the reigning NBA champs, who suffered as the emotions of the championship ceremony carried over into the first quarter and some of the second, messing with their performance.
Pascal Siakam, hot off a fouryear contract extension that will kick in a year from now by paying him a total of US$130 million, looked to be worth every future cent as he scored 34 points and pulled down 18 rebounds. He also had five assists in the game. Fred VanVleet also scored 34.
Siakam was at his most dominant in the fourth quarter when the Raptors needed him most as his 14 points helped avoid a loss on championship celebration night.
With that stat line, Siakam became the first player in Raptors history to score at least 20 points, pull down at 10 rebounds and dish out five assists in a season opener.
He and VanVleet’s 34 points were more than any other player in a Raptors opener with two exceptions — Vince Carter and DeMar DeRozan.
Siakam fouled out with 50 seconds remaining on a questionable offensive foul call.
The visiting Pelicans had to wait out the championship ceremony, but there was no emotion other than perhaps the feeling of annoyance at having to watch someone else celebrate.
It translated into a pumped-up New Orleans team and an overpumped Raptors team as the Pelicans jumped on the defending champs in the early going. Toronto was down as many as 11. National media types are not giving the Raptors much of any chance at all of repeating let along contending, but Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry isn’t among that group. Clearly a baseball fan as well as an accomplished basketball coach, Gentry dropped some MLB knowledge on the assembled media pre-game to make his point.
“Bryce Harper is gone, too, but where are the Nationals?” Gentry asked of the former Washington go-to guy who left via free agency for the Phillies. “I’m not ready to short-sell these guys.”
Gentry had his Pelicans, even without No. 1 pick Zion Williamson in the fold for at least the next month, primed and ready.
But the Raptors just had too much of an edge in the raw talent department for the Pelicans to sustain their early advantage.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse stuck to an eight-man rotation, presumably out of a lack of comfort with any of the other four options with which he could have extended his rotation.
“I’m probably playing Terence (Davis II) as the eighth guy tonight,” Nurse said prior to the game. “And then when we go to nine and I don’t know yet, it just depends on what the situation calls for. It could be (Matt) Thomas, it could be (Chris) Boucher, it could be Stanley (Johnson) it could be Malcolm (Miller). It could be any one of those three or four guys.”
It turned out it wasn’t any of them as all were DNPs for the game.
Davis on the other hand was a little bit of everything in his NBA debut.
He showed absolutely no fear taking every open shot he was offered while knocking down two of six. He was an active rebounder and stunningly high leaper pulling down five boards, not to mention a willing passer, finishing with two assists.
VanVleet is another player who is going to get a huge opportunity to break out this season with Kawhi Leonard no longer around.
VanVleet, who came off the bench a year ago, got the start beside Kyle Lowry in the backcourt and answered the call with 34 points, along with five rebounds and seven assists.
He’s a guy Nurse said he expects he’ll be counting on all season to help offset the loss of the other guy not named Leonard in Danny Green, who now plays for the Lakers.
“It’s not really the same position, but that’s kinda what we’re doing,” Nurse said of putting VanVleet in the spot occupied by Green in the championship season. “Fred’s kind of a leadership guy. He’s a calm, cool, collected guy (like Green). He’ll step in and take a shot when you need him to. I think that’s Fred’s spot now.”
On opening night VanVleet gave Nurse everything he could have asked for.