Raptors’ problems easy to see, harder to fix
Siakam woes reflect team’s struggle to get back on track
The 1- 4 Toronto Raptors are struggling. The reasons are plain. The defence has been slow to find its connectivity, the offence, when it’s not pushing the pace, has been unreliable, and the third quarter seems to be some sort of black hole where everything they have done well to that point in the game flips the other way. Those are just the team issues.
Individually, Pascal Siakam returned from a one game disciplinary benching with yet another foul- plagued effort during Saturday’s 120- 116 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. That’s two games in a row with such issues. If Siakam can’t stay on the floor he’s not much good to his teammates and if he’s constantly in foul trouble he can’t be the aggressive driver he needs to be to be effective.
Whatever else is going on between him and the organization remains murky.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse alluded to Siakam needing to get on board with the team needs before Saturday’s game.
“Listen, it’s just something we’re trying to work out here a little bit and work it out early in the season and not let it prolong and, again, more just an expectation of how we want to play, not individually how anybody wants to play,” Nurse said.
“But there’s certain standards we want to set and he just needs to get on board with those. And he can do it ...”
After the game Nurse said it was clear that Siakam struggled but the coach did not come across as overly concerned about his scoring power forward.
“... Half court, off rhythm there at both ends a little bit which is getting him in foul trouble and not letting him be able to finish some plays at the offensive end as well,” Nurse said.
Siakam is a worker. We know that. He’s a guy who when things get tough and he struggles, he goes to work and fixes the issue. That has been his approach since he came into the NBA.
His experience in the bubble last season was different, of course. He came in without having been able to work and never did find his game in Orlando.
He has already talked about the strong off-season he had since then and how much better he feels. Siakam does not think his difficulties are going to last for long.
The issue that needs to be rectified first and foremost is the defence.
“I think, just as a defensive guy, we’ve got a long way to go in that regard — just like slides and paying attention to the game plan and things that we’re not executing, keeping teams off the foul line,” guard Fred Vanvleet said. “You know, we’ve got a lot of work to do, man. We’ve got a lot of work to do and we’ve just gotta keep being accountable and look ourselves in the mirror and just try to get better each day. I thought the Knicks game was a step in the right direction, I thought (Saturday against the Pelicans), had we won this game, it would’ve been a great step in the right direction. We played pretty well in spurts but we’ll go back to the drawing board and lace ’em up again on Monday.”
It’s not that there aren’t shortcomings on the offence too. It’s just that the Raptors know that if they can be the kind of defensive team they believe they are capable of, any offensive shortcomings can be overcome with stops at the other end.
Normally defence is ahead of offence at this point in the season, but that has not been the case for the Raptors.
Nurse said after Saturday’s game the only defensive stretch he liked came in those four minutes late in the fourth quarter when the Raptors rallied from a 10-point deficit to take a lead into the final minutes.
The swarming Raptors created turnovers and got out in transition with an advantage in numbers getting their offence, that hadn’t been effective since the second quarter, once again humming. It didn’t last and there certainly wasn’t enough of it throughout the game to call it a turning point.
As Vanvleet says, plenty of work remains, but he believes the Raptors are capable.
It doesn’t get any easier Monday either with the Boston Celtics paying a visit in Tampa.
The Celtics are experiencing some issues of their own at just 3- 3 as they try to survive the absence of Kemba Walker from the team. Walker has been out strengthening the knee that he had stem cell injection in. An update on his return is expected within the week.
In his place Payton Pritchard, the Oregon product chosen with the 26th pick in the first round this year, has been forcing his way into the lineup. He’s not only been building up his minutes, he’s closing games for the Celtics.
The Raptors’ focus though will be on the duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who have been logging the majority of the scoring for the Celtics.
YOU KNOW, WE’VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO, MAN.