Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Boucher Saves the Day, Precious Achiuwa Steps Up, & Raptors Eke Out Victory over 76ers
All that matters is how you finish.
There was nothing pretty about the start of the season for Chris Boucher. The 29-year-old was a liability on both ends of the court, too aggressive and too mistake-prone to be playable at times. But lately, he's been a difference-maker. When Toronto needed a stop late in the fourth quarter, Boucher stood in there against a driving James Harden. He took an elbow to the face, a charge to the stomach, and held strong as Toronto eked out a 93-88 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
1. Win the Embiid-less Minutes
Toronto's plan for Joel Embiid and Harden was to get aggressive. When one of the superstars rested, the Raptors sent double teams at the other one, trying to force the ball out of whoever was leading Philadelphia's offense, hoping to force the other 76ers to beat them. When the two were together, the Raptors refused to leave the two MVP-caliber players, leaving open shooters dotting the perimeter anytime Toronto was forced into rotation.
For a while early in the game, it wasn't pretty. The 76ers just moved the ball around, awaiting the double then sending Toronto scrambling to recover as Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle made the Raptors pay.
Toronto did, however, find a groove in the second and early fourth quarters when Embiid went to the bench and the Raptors' second unit began to take advantage of the offensive glass with putback dunks and second-chance points galore. With more energy, Toronto's defense looked at ease, albeit without Philadelphia's best player on the court.
"I thought Chris, Thad, those guys came in, Precious stayed in with them, Armoni, those guys got about three, four offensive rebounds in a row that I thought sparked all the energy, really boosted our team and kinda carried it through for the game," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.
Truthfully, though, Toronto's best bet against the 76ers is the same gameplan that worked so well in Game 7 back in 2019: Win the minutes when Embiid sits. Back then, it was Greg Monroe who couldn't hold up against the Raptors in that pivotal game. This time around, it was Georges Niang and DeAndre Jordan who the Raptors killed.
Put simply, in a five-point 76ers loss, Embiid was plus-seven. That's all it comes down to.
2. Achiuwa's Speed too Much for Opposing Centers
Nurse regretted the starting lineup right from the jump. Without Fred VanVleet, he was trying to get cute with things, trying to go big against Embiid and company with Precious Achiuwa and Khem Birch starting together. But after a 26-12 start in favor of the 76ers, Nurse had seen enough.
The mistake, he said, was playing the two together. Right now, it's a lineup that doesn't work. For Achiuwa to succeed, he needs to be a center, creating mismatches by either stretching opposing bigs out to the perimeter or making them pay for sagging off inside. Without Birch, Achiuwa's offense took off Sunday night. He banged in a pair of three-pointers and twice created off the dribble, going right at Harden and Embiid with a pair of floaters.
"I think when Precious is playing the five he's gonna have a center playing him, so he can play underneath some, he can be in the dunker spot some, but he can pick and pop more against a big, he can play in the corners more against a rim-protecting big and that’s an advantage," Nurse said following Achiuwa's 21 point performance. "If he's got a four guarding him, usually those guys know how to play that stuff a little differently."
In the second half, Nurse staggered the two bigs, using Birch to start and Achiuwa to finish. It was a wise decision as Achiuwa locked down Harden in the final minute, walling him off from inside as the former MVP was left putting up an errant layup that rimmed out.
3. Siakam's Passing Better than Ever Before
Pascal Siakam's game has reached a new high.
He may not have been an All-Star this year, but the 27-year-old forward is playing the best basketball of his career. It's not just the scoring and offensive workload he's asked to carry night after night without Kyle Lowry, Kawhi Leonard, or, at times this season, any three-point shooting alongside him. Rather, it's his playmaking that's developed to the point that Toronto is comfortable letting him run the offense in the half-court, confident that the 6-foot-9 point forward will create something out of nothing.
"He's just more comfortable," Fred VanVleet said earlier in the week. "He's seeing, you know, pretty much primary scorer coverage for two or three years now. So for him to just get more comfortable with that: he knows when to pass, he knows when it's fake help and they're bluffing so he can back out and re-attack."
Siakam's feel for opposing defenses is as good as it's ever been. He'll penetrate into the paint, await the double team, then find the open man as he did to the tune of five assists Sunday night. He found Achiuwa for a pair of three-pointers in the second quarter and made savvy dump-off passes to Scottie Barnes when the Raptors rookie snuck behind the 76ers' defense for inside layups.
His 26 points Sunday night coupled with the offensive creation and rebounding prowess has thrust him squarely into All-NBA conversation despite his unusual All-Star snub.
Up Next: Chicago Bulls
The Raptors will be right back at it Monday night when they venture over to Chicago where Fred VanVleet is expected to be back in the lineup against the Bulls at 8 p.m. ET.
