One game into an 82-game grind of a season and already the Raptors find themselves looking in the mirror desperately grasping for answers to the issues that simply can’t be addressed.
Size isn’t going to appear out of the blue, shooting isn’t going to be developed in the short term and nor will a competent and deep bench be assembled, even when some of the team’s injured players are fully healthy.
When that time arrives, additional time will be necessary because at no time during the five-game pre-season schedule did the Raptors field their full complement.
In Wednesday’s season opener, the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers abused the home side by emerging with a plus-30 in paint points.
The 30 theme was hard to overlook, beginning with the 30th anniversary, the 30-point margin of the defeat, which — fittingly in a dark way — happened to be the most-lopsided loss in a season opener.
The franchise face in Scottie Barnes fell flat on his face, looking too passive and over-matched when underwhelming reserves were on the floor at the same time.
Barnes has played poorly in the past, but his first game in his fourth NBA season may have represented his worst performance given all that was at stake and all that has been thrust onto his plate.
He used the off-season to hone in on his leadership, but it was hard to notice on the court when fouls became common, trips to the foul line infrequent and three-point makes non-existent.
Emerging with a game-high minus-33 is one stat no player, let alone a team’s anointed star, welcomes next to his name in the boxscore.
Perhaps it was following the Raptors debacle when Barnes stepped up to show his role of leader. Appearing on the podium decked in a string of pearls, Barnes pulled no punches in stating the Raptors got a butt kicking.
“We’re not gonna get down ourselves,” he said. “We’re really a connected group and we’ll learn from this.”
There’s no other choice. The remedy to cure all that ails isn’t so clear.
Losing can be tolerated when an entertaining product at least is presented.
Toronto was competitive in the opening quarter until things began to unravel, whether it was Immanuel Quickley being forced to exit the game because of a pelvis contusion or the many areas of weakness that were exposed and exploited.
As a team, the Raptors committed19 turnovers that led to 30 points. Jakob Poeltl, who did not have a good game, and Davion Mitchell each had five turnovers.
There were solid stretches on defence by Jamal Shead and sequences by Gradey Dick that at least provide some reason for optimism going forward.
Dick isn’t a starter, at least not at this stage in his development, and his shot selection needs to be better. He scored 16 points, but also attempted 13 shots, which is not the example of efficiency.
When the Raptors ushered in the 2023 season, they beat the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves. Chris Boucher earned the dreaded DNP-CD in the debut of head coach Darko Rajakovic.
Against the Cavs, Boucher was the first player off Rajakovic’s bench. The Canadian led the Raptors in scoring with 18 points and accounted for one-third of the team’s 12 made three-pointers.
Granted, the Raptors aren’t known for their shooting in an era where teams rely on the three ball.
The Boston Celtics are the measuring stick in the East and the reigning champions opened their defence of the franchise’s 18th title by heaving 61 threes in a win over visiting New York. The Celtics tied an NBA record by draining 29.
Combined, the Raptors and Cavs attempted 61 threes and combined to make 26.
At least Cleveland has talent and appears poised to once again challenge for a top-four seed in the East. As for the Raptors, it’s best they move on from opening night.
DEEP-SIXED
The Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers pay a visit to Scotiabank Arena on Friday night.
By now, the return of Kyle Lowry and Nick Nurse should be viewed as just another visit and nothing more, but with fans left with so little to cheer, it’s almost unavoidable both members of the 2019 championship team will receive some kind of recognition.
Embiid is the face of Philly basketball, even as he faces mounting criticism which seems to have followed the big man the moment he stepped foot in the city.
He did not play in games or participate in full-court scrimmages during the pre-season, joining off-season acquisition Paul George in missing the Sixers’ opening-night home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Embiid will miss the Toronto tip and Sunday’s game at Indiana as he rests his left knee, which required surgery in February before returning for the team’s opening-round playoff series loss to the Knicks.
The big man already has stated he won’t play in back-to-games for the balance of his career.
If there’s a head coach familiar with executing this delicate balance of play and rest, it’s Nurse, who had to navigate the whole load-management concept with Kawhi Leonard.
Without Embiid, the undisputed face of the Sixers is Tyrese Maxey. In Wednesday’s 124-109 loss to the Bucks, Maxey was blitzed, trapped and had multiple bodies thrown at him when the ball was in his hands. He only attempted four three throws and required 31 shots to score 25 points.
Toronto most recently appeared in the post-season in Barnes’ rookie year. The team’s opponent was Philadelphia, which advanced to the second round with a Game 6 win in Toronto.
Friday’s tip is the first of Toronto’s first back-to-back set that will then see the Raptors in Minnesota for a Saturday night date against the T’Wolves.