Reeling Raptors on critical Western swing

“Right now we have no swag(ger) to us. Right now we have nothing. There’s nothing to us."

For now, all that's known about these reeling Raptors is that a four-game Western swing began Wednesday night in Phoenix.

Four games under .500 and coming off a feeble performance against the Boston Celtics, no words were minced post-game, or even pre-game, when head coach Nick Nurse began the team's Zoom call with reporters.

Fred Vanvleet and Kyle Lowry would follow, neither holding back on their comments.

Nurse keeps searching, frantically and desperately at times, for a lineup that actually works, while acknowledging the team's glaring lack of size and a wobbly bench.

One can only imagine the changes Nurse and his staff are mulling.

Defence and playing hard have defined the Raptors, but both disappeared to a Celtics team missing two starters, a team coming off a Sunday game.

There was no fight Monday night, no defence, no hope as countless shots from distance weren't dropping as the Raptors dropped their record to 1-5.

“We just need to get a little bit more grittier, get a little bit more tougher and a little bit more nastier and have a little bit of a swag(ger) to us,'' Lowry acknowledged in the aftermath of Toronto's 126114 loss, a scoreline that flattered the Raptors, who would trail by as many as 26 points.

“Right now we have no swag(ger) to us. Right now we have nothing. There's nothing to us. Teams are looking at us like: ‘All right, let's go eat.' And that's not a good feeling.''

Truth be told, the Raptors have been dining out on their NBA championship and it's beginning to wear thin.

The Raptors are not in a good place, teetering on an all-out crisis if something doesn't give.

From the start of the season, it was painfully obvious how the team's margin for error was pretty thin given the makeup of the roster.

For now, the Raptors have to play it out and try to bring that defensive edge they've become known for, while hoping someone like Pascal Siakam, who looks lost and confused, finds his game.

Vanvleet had it going with his jumper against Boston, pouring in 14 of his teamhigh 35 points in the first quarter.

He drained seven of the Raptors' first nine threepointers and then saw how Toronto missed its next 13 triples.

He was overmatched, some would say thrown to the wolves, when Boston ran pick and rolls with Jayson Tatum, forcing Vanvleet to guard the all-star morphing into a superstar.

Much like Lowry, Vanvleet pulled no punches.

Six games into a season and the Raptors have, according to Vanvleet, “a boatload of problems.”

He would add: “This is probably uncharted territory for most of us.''

How they navigate through these choppy waters will determine a lot about this unit and what direction the franchise ultimately charters, especially given Lowry's looming free-agent status.

Accountability is critical and it begins at the top with president Masai Ujiri, the man many thought could walk on water.

The decision to make Siakam a max player looks pretty foolish today.

As the Raptors head off to Phoenix, things aren't looking good, even if it is six games into a season.

Toronto Raptors' Kyle Lowry