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Raptors Prove They're Ready For Anything With Playoff-Like Win Over Cavaliers
The Toronto Raptors are ready for anything.
At this point, Raptors coach Nick Nurse has seen enough. Is his team perfect? No. But now, he knows they can handle anything. They've shown it against the best teams in the league night after night and Thursday's 117-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers was no different. With playoff implications on the line, the Raptors rose to the occasion. One through nine, everyone clipped in with another incredible performance from the bench as Pascal Siakam and Chris Boucher put Toronto into a tie with the Cavaliers for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and the final guaranteed spot in the playoffs.
1. Barnes Narrows Rookie of the Year Race
Let's just say it couldn't have been a coincidence that the Raptors decided to wait until the Cavaliers were in town to honor Scottie Barnes for his February Rookie of the Month award. The chase for the Rookie of the Year between Barnes and Cleveland's Evan Mobley was certainly on Thursday night. At one point, it got so heated Raptors fans began chanting "Scottie's better" while Mobley took first-half free throws.
To be fair, they may have been right.
Barnes is a wizard with the ball in transition. There are passes he makes on a regular basis that just defy belief. In the first quarter, he froze Caris LeVert with a no-look pass to Pascal Siakam for the full-seed transition bucket. He then followed it up with a wild sequence in the second quarter in which he threw another no-look pass to OG Anunoby, got the ball back, and then found Boucher in the corner with a strike leading to a pair of Raptors free throws.
While Mobley was certainly impressive with 11 points, eight rebounds, a poster-worthy one-handed slam over Boucher for the and-1 finish, and a block of an Anunoby three-pointer, Barnes was seemingly everywhere for the Raptors. He ran in transition, grabbed six rebounds, tallied four assists, and finished the night with 11 points including a two-handed slam just moments after Mobley's impressive dunk.
Mobley might still win the Rookie of the Year, but the Raptors can't be upset with anything Barnes has done this year.
2. Siakam Heats up From 3-Point Range
When Pascal Siakam's three-pointers are falling, there are few players better. It's really the difference between a very good Siakam game and an incredible Siakam performance.
At this point, he has every other tool you could look for from a 6-foot-9 forward. He's deadly in transition with speed, a euro-step, and a spin move that are borderline unstoppable. When help does come and defenses do collapse, he's happy to make the dump-off pass and find open teammates as he did in the second quarter with an inside dime to Boucher. It's just that once-reliable three-point shot that has become shakey over the past couple of seasons. That, however, was not the case against Cleveland as he rose up and nailed catch-and-shoot three-point one after another to the tune of 35 points with a career-high six three-pointers. He then finished the night with a pull-up jumper that he converted as Lauri Markkanen fouled him, ending Cleveland's night with the and-1 dagger.
"I just think we’ve been working on it," Siakam said of his three-point shot. "I’ve been talking to some of the coaches... and all those people I work out with, and we’ve talked about increasing the amount of shots that I take. So we’ve been working on that a lot."
3. Anunoby Returns From Fractured Finger
It may not have started pretty Thursday night, as Anunoby air-balled his first shot attempt, a wide-open corner three, but the 24-year-old certainly recovered in his first game back from a finger fracture that's kept him sidelined for over a month.
His floor spacing really opened things up for the Raptors who have gone so long without a reliable corner threat. Even if he hasn't developed his on-ball game as much as some had hoped, when healthy, he's a reliable shooter that teams have to account for. He nailed a trio of three-pointers in the first half, all from the corners, and finished the night with 14 points on 4-for-11 shooting.
"I think it's a big deal. Again, an experienced catch-and-shoot guy with a quick release and a high percentage guy’s certainly going to put some doubt into how you're going to put two on Pascal," Nurse said. "That was good to see them play off each other like that."
After the game, Anunoby said he felt fine with the workload and while his finger isn't fully healed, he was eager to back on the court and start ramping up for the playoffs.
4. Brooks Has Impressed Raptors
It would appear as though Armoni Brooks is in line for another contract when his 10-day deal expires Friday. While no official decision has been made, the Raptors are clearly fond of the 23-year-old guard who can stretch the floor as a three-point threat even when his shots aren't falling.
“He’s been the marquee of the 10-days for us," Nurse said pre-game. "He’s giving us some spacing probably. In different stretches of the game there are certain guys that really need that."
Brooks' defense was once again solid Thursday night. He poked the ball loose from the Cavaliers a few times and came up with a pair of steals. While he only shot 2-for-6 from three-point range, expect him to stick around a little bit longer.
Up Next: Indiana Pacers
The Raptors will be back at it Saturday night when the lowly Indiana Pacers come to town for a 7:30 p.m. ET tipoff.
