Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Raptors Punch Playoff Tickets by Sticking to their Identity in Victory over Hawks
The Toronto Raptors set a goal for themselves at the All-Star break: Avoid the Play-In Tournament
They were 32-25 at the time, seventh in the Eastern Conference, having climbed out of an early-season hole and beginning to put together the kind of season Raptors fans have grown accustomed to over the past decade. On paper, though, they were still a flawed group. Their lack of guard depth seemed like a glaring issue. Their unusual forward depth seemed like an advantage occasionally, but a tad unorthodox without the kind of three-point shooting needed to combat modern teams.
On Tuesday night, however, they achieved that goal. A 118-108 victory over the Atlanta Hawks coupled with an Orlando Magic upset of the Cleveland Cavaliers meant Toronto stamped their ticket to the playoffs.
"It means a lot. It’s one of those things we gotta just appreciate the journey and I think when you are building something that I have been a part of for six years here – the first four or five you kind of get a little jaded, a little spoiled, with just expecting the win and excellence it takes to be good every night in this league. That was taken away from us last year so sitting at home in (May) and watching the first round of the playoffs or even the play-in when we all felt like we were capable enough to be there, stung a little bit and I know that is something that we spoke about," said Fred VanVleet.
"Fast forward to having a group that nobody thought was going to be any good, being here in this position is good. We did what we set out to do in the regular season which was have a good regular season and obviously we still have three more games left, but get us a spot where we feel like we belong, and now it’s time to go see what we can do."
Raptors Stick to their Identity
In one season, the Raptors have already bounced back from an embarrassing 27-45 campaign last year and have now solidified themselves as one of the Eastern Conference's most fearsome teams. They've done it by playing their own innovative brand of basketball, spurning the modern offensive principles of three-point basketball, and deciding instead to play bully-ball with versatile defenders who compete with anyone.
“I think they’ve formed some kind of identity, it’s a little quirky and a little different but it’s a hard playing, competitive identity and they found a way to grind out enough wins to get ‘em in this situation,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “I don’t think they were picked to get here so that’s always a good accomplishment.”
It didn't matter, for example, that the Raptors opened the game 0-for-12 from behind the arc, because Toronto dominated the glass, swallowing up offensive rebounds and generating offense the old fashion way. When they needed a bucket late, it was once again via the offensive board. This time Scottie Barnes played hero, catching an air-balled three-pointer from Precious Achiuwa and slamming it down for the go-ahead game-winning bucket in the final minutes.
"At the start of the season people didn't know how far we would go because they didn't know if we would figure it out," said Chris Boucher who nailed a pair of fourth quarter three-pointers and finished the night with 18 points off the bench. "The coaching staff did a good job telling us what they were aiming for and what we needed to do and everybody bought in and, you know, these are the results of two, three months of figuring out what and who needed to do what in this team."
Siakam Remains Toronto's Half Court Bucket Getter
None of it would have happened without Pascal Siakam, though. The 28-year-old has solidified himself as Toronto’s go-to bucket getter in the half court. Even when nobody else could burry a bucket, Siakam was there over and over again for the Raptors, getting into the paint and generating good looks for a team that so desperately them.
“He was great. The biggest thing was, as you guys have seen, probably his go-to move over the years is to get this body on you and spin off you and he wasn’t really using it,” Nurse said of Siakam who finished the night with 31 points on 12-for-23 shooting. “He was staying faced up as long as he could and I think that just gives him great vision on what’s in front of him or what’s coming at him and feel.
“I like that growth and I like the confidence and it took us long enough to do a couple of things late to get him a little more space.”
VanVleet Continues to Struggle with Knee Injury
Coming into Tuesday night, VanVleet had begun to look like his old self defensively. He’d whizzed around the court in the past few games, poking balls loose and being his usual pesky defender. That, however, wasn’t the case Tuesday. He struggled to defend Trae Young who burned Toronto for 26 points and the Raptors guard couldn’t get anything going offensively. At one point in the third quarter it got so bad he walked off the court in the middle of the possession before the Raptors called a timeout to let him reset.
“He’s not 100 per cent out there. He’s lacing them up and giving everything he’s got and he just doesn’t feel great,” Nurse said. “Just at that time just decided we’d do it a different way, which was sit the last half of the third and try to make it through the fourth as well.”
Eventually, VanVleet broke through. He nailed the dagger three-pointer in the final seconds on a deep jumper from Siakam.
The win should give him some time off down the stretch. While no official decision has been made, Toronto is just about locked into the sixth seed in the East and with three games to go it wouldn't be surprising if the Raptors give him some rest.
Highlight of the Night
After a slow start for Precious Achiuwa who looked a little lost on offense early, passing up a pair of open threes and doing a little too much with the ball, the 22-year-old forward settled in and began making a difference in the second quarter. He nailed an and-1 floater at the rim and later threw down a massive one-handed slam over Onyeka Okongwu
"Oh, that was nasty. He dunks on them every time, I think that’s the third time they got dunked on, he’s got two on them already and another one now," Boucher said.
Injury Update
OG Anunoby is "much improved, but still pretty sore," Nurse said pre-game.
Up Next: Philadelphia 76ers
The Raptors will be back at it Thursday night when James Harden, Joel Embiid, and the Philadelphia 76ers come to town for the first game of a back-to-back at 7:30 p.m. ET.
