Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Raptors Disappoint as 2nd Quarter of Season Begins With Loss to Nets
This was not how the first quarter of the season was supposed to go for the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors were the team of continuity coming into the season. While everyone else made major changes over the summer, Toronto opted to stand pat with its roster, believing chemistry and development would pay dividends, especially early.
That hasn't been the case.
Through 22 games, the Raptors are 11-11. Yes, injuries plagued a 10-game stretch in the middle there, but Pascal Siakam is back and healthy and still Toronto is having problems. An 18-point loss on Wednesday to the New Orleans Pelicans is forgivable. It happens. Following it up two nights later with a 114-105 loss to the Brooklyn Nets that saw the Raptors trail by as many as 36 in the first half, well, that's an issue.
The Raptors have something to prove this season. They fast-tracked the rebuild last year, outperforming expectations, and making things interesting in the first round against a tough Philadelphia 76ers team. This year, a first-round exit isn't considered a success. It's stagnation.
If the playoffs are where they want to be this season, three straight losses to the Nets isn't going to be good enough. Kyrie Irving continues to create problems for Toronto's hyper-aggressive Kevin Durant-stopping defense. After Joe Harris nailed a trio of three-pointers in the first quarter, Irving took over in the second, scoring 12 of his game-high 27 in the frame as Brooklyn took a 72-49 lead into halftime.
A classic Raptors rally in the fourth quarter pulled Toronto to within seven, but by then it was too late. Fred VanVleet continued to struggle, nailing just 4-of-14 from the field for 10 points, Pascal Siakam was better with 22 points but battled through foul trouble all night, and O.G. Anunoby's 21-point effort just wasn't nearly enough.
Scottie Struggles, Battles Injury
It's been a season plagued by injuries for Scottie Barnes who has battled through injuries to both ankles, a knee sprain, and now another injury Friday night after landing awkwardly trying to shake loose of Royce O'Neal in the fourth quarter. He did return but didn't quite look himself with whatever was ailing him.
As for the rest of the game, things weren't pretty either. Barnes struggled with his handle, fumbling the ball repeatedly as he coughed the ball up a career-high seven times Friday night. He finished the night with 17 points and nine rebounds.
First Quarter Woes
The Raptors have churned through 12 different starting lineups this season and still, the team has had no answer for its first-quarter woes. Coming into Friday, Toronto was getting outscored by 1.9 points in the first quarter, the eighth worst-margin in the NBA. That didn't change against Brooklyn who dropped 41 points in the first frame while shooting 75% from the floor.
Making matters worse, the Raptors mustered almost nothing offensively. They tallied just 17 points in the quarter, scoring just five field goals while turning the ball over six times.
There's really no apparent explanation for it. The Raptors are among the league's very best fourth-quarter teams and have outscored its opponents each of the other three quarters this season on average. It's just the first that has plagued them so mightily. Until they figure that out, it's going to be a season of comebacks and constantly digging out of difficult holes.
Up Next: Orlando Magic
Well, the good news is there won't be much time for the Raptors to dwell on this one. They'll be back home and right back at it Saturday night to take on the Orlando Magic at 8 p.m. ET.
