Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Raptors Looking For More From Precious Achiuwa Who Exits Early in Victory Over Rockets
Nick Nurse isn't one to jump on his players when things are going poorly. He prefers to let his players work their way out of funks with pointers here and there. That is until it becomes an "issue," he says.
On Wednesday, the Toronto Raptors had reached that point with Precious Achiuwa. Just 11 games into the season, Nurse had seen enough. The progress Achiuwa showed last season hadn't carried over and it was time to have a meeting.
“He needs to play better," Nurse told the assembled Raptors media prior to Wednesday's 116-109 victory over the Houston Rockets. "He just needs to play better, man. I’m always talking about playing hard on D and not executing. And he’s just having too much inconsistency."
The two met for a one-on-one prior to the game to review tape and go over Achiuwa's mistakes. It wasn't all bad, as Nurse acknowledged, but by and large, it hasn't been good enough. Toronto's defense has been better with Achiuwa off the floor this season and that's unacceptable for a player as talented and defensively-oriented as Achiuwa.
Nurse wanted more.
One game won't decide the future for Achiuwa, but the early returns from the meeting weren't positive. A two-point Rockets lead when Achiuwa checked in early in the first quarter quickly turned into a 10-point lead. It wasn't all Achiuwa's fault, but his defense again wasn't good enough. He was caught in no man's land at one point, getting beat by Garuba Usman for an easy dunk on the baseline and fouled Eric Gordon moments later when the Rockets center took him off the dribble one-on-one.
Making matters worse for Achiuwa, Toronto's first-half fortunes quickly turned around when he checked out and Dalano Banton and Thad Young entered the game. Young, in particular, brought a steadying presence to the court, eventually leading the Raptors to a three-point lead heading into the break.
"We had quite a few guys that ... had their chances and didn't make the most of them, let's say," Nurse said, referring to Achiuwa and Boucher. "I think a lot of our off-the-bench guys or younger guys have been really up and down, like way up or way down and you know I'm way more let's play towards the average."
That didn't change in the second half. The normal Achiuwa and Chris Boucher minutes went to Young and eventually Otto Porter Jr. as Toronto expanded its lead to 12. When Achiuwa and Boucher did check in, things fell apart again. He clanked a six-foot floater off the backboard and again got caught in between as the Rockets tied the game up on a Kenyon Martin Jr.
Unfortunately, Achiuwa's night came to a premature end as he fell awkwardly going up for a layup and injured his right ankle. He hobbled to the bench before being helped to the locker room, unable to put pressure on his right leg.
The team had no immediate update on Achiuwa post-game but an MRI is expected.
Once Fred VanVleet checked back in midway through the fourth, Toronto began to pull away. He nailed a step-back three-pointer and found Porter for another three-pointer. Minutes later, Scottie Barnes found him for another three-pointer, his seventh on the night as he eclipsed the 30-point threshold for the second time in the past three games, finishing the night with 32 on 12-for-25 shooting.
With Achiuwa's status now uncertain moving forward, Nurse is going to get a chance to take a longer look at Young, Porter, and the rest of his bench.
"Thad was huge," Nurse said of Young who recorded nearly 27 minutes off the bench and was plus-21 despite failing to score a single point. "I thought he came in and started rebounding when we desperately needed it. He really went after the ball. Otto had his most minutes, I'm sure, this year and made some big buckets."
Wednesday proved the two veterans deserve a longer look while Achiuwa is out and maybe when he returns too.
O.G. Oh My
For all of Toronto's first-half troubles, O.G. Anunoby kept the Raptors hanging around early with his most dominant offensive game of the season. He opened the night with three straight three-pointers and threw down some monster dunks.
The first came courtesy of a dribble handoff with Banton who slowed Kevin Porter Jr. just long enough to give Anunoby a runway for the two-handed slam over Alperen Sengun.
Later, he hooked up for a pair of alley-oops, first on a no-look from Barnes and later in transition on a lightning-quick pass from Fred VanVleet. Then in the third quarter, VanVleet picked off a pass from Jalen Green and sent Anunoby streaking for a reverse slam
Anunoby doesn't need to be quite the offensive engine he was Wednesday as long as his defense continues to wreak havoc on opposing teams. He finished the game with another three-steal performance to go with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and a block.
"He’s finally taking it personally and if he ever gets any meaner, he’s going to be really scary," VanVleet said of Anunoby's defense. "He’s such a nice guy. If he ever just turns into a bad guy it would be scary out there.
"To see him take it personal on defense, he could probably steal the ball whenever he feels like it, but he’s making the right reads on rotations, he’s making plays on lobs and blocked shots so it just looks great. It looks like he’s the defensive player of the year so far and we’re going to need him to be that for us this year."
Scottie Barnes' Ankle Update
Barnes hadn't looked quite himself over the past few games and was seen at times limping and working out his ankle. Nurse, however, said pre-game that the ankle is fine and Barnes isn't dealing with any physical issues.
Up Next: Oklahoma City Thunder
The Raptors will have the day off before heading out west to take on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night at 8 p.m. ET.
