Developing Raptors Struggle Against Star-Studded Clippers

The development continues as the Toronto Raptors' bench pieces couldn't quite hang with Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers

The pain will be over soon.

That's about all there is to say these days. The Toronto Raptors have decided to use the final four games of the season to take a look at some of their younger players and move up in the lottery standings and, well, if losing was the goal then Tuesday night's 115-96 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. The development part of that equation, however, left a little bit be desired. 

The Clippers, as you'd expect from a team with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, had their way with the undermanned Raptors. Even when Toronto was able to get things going for a little bit in the second quarter, L.A. just came storming back once their stars hit the court again.

Briefly in that second quarter it looked like Jalen Harris was showing a bit of ball-handling prowess. It wasn't anything particularly incredible, but the Raptors' second-round pick looked competent handling the pick-and-roll and took advantage of some miscommunication to slice through the Clippers' defence for an easy bucket.

"He's had some really good moments," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "I think that he's got some pop with the first step, he's got some finish to his game, he can vault up and shoot a little bit,"

But even those highlights were short-lived as he turned the ball over a team-high five times.

Freddie Gillespie was equally OK. He held tight against DeMarcus Cousins, even denying the former All-Star at the rim for what could have been a monstrous slam dunk. He finished the night with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks.

Otherwise, things were pretty disappointing. Chris Boucher didn't have his shot falling in his first game back from injury. His shots were mostly short, but for now that can just be chalked up to rust. 

"Obviously coming from injury I had to find a way to play well and make sure that my knee was still feeling right and all that," Boucher said.

Gary Trent Jr. continues to struggle when asked to take on a bigger share of the offensive workload. The Clippers treated him like Toronto's top offensive weapon and it forced him to take some low-percentage contested shots.

"He's got to be a rhythm shooter too, like the shots and the offence need to come to him and when they're there he needs to take them," Nurse said. "He's got to take quality shots, I'm not sure he had a lot of quality looks tonight."

Up Next: Chicago Bulls

The Raptors have had a tough time with this whole tanking thing at times this season, but if they want to secure that seventh spot in the lottery a loss on Thursday night to the Chicago Bulls.