Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Raptors Show Who They Can Be At Their Best as They End 1st Half with Victory Over Hornets
The Toronto Raptors aren't hiding from their flaws.
"We are who we are," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said as his team reached the midway point of the season Tuesday with a 132-120 victory over the Charlotte Hornets
The first half of the season didn't go as anyone would have hoped. For a team with playoff expectations, Toronto's 18-23 first half was about as disappointing as it could get. Yes, the injuries have been plentiful, but it's been the lack of development almost across the board that's been the most concerning. Save for Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby, nobody has taken a step forward this season.
"It’s gonna take some better individual play from a lot of guys," Nurse continued. "A lot of the focus is on the main guys and all that stuff, but a lot of guys need to not only get back to where they were. They’re supposed to be getting better."
Those secondary players that Nurse was talking about finally stepped up against Charlotte. It wasn't pretty to start. Both Chris Boucher and Precious Achiuwa looked like, well, they have for most of the season. Achiuwa clanked an off-balanced layup off the top of the backboard trying to split a triple team. Boucher missed his first three-point attempt of the game, an ill-advised jumper.
But then everything clicked. Achiuwa got hot from behind the arc, nailing a trio of three-pointers. Boucher picked off a bad pass from LaMelo Ball and found Achiuwa for a driving dunk in the second quarter.
"It was shaky, but it was aggressive shaky, probably overly aggressive," Nurse said as his eyes grew wide reflecting back on Achiuwa's early minutes. "And it’s such a good thing that it turned into a good stint. You can let him play through maybe a couple of not great decisions, a couple of mistakes here and there and it didn’t warrant that I had to make a major shift and then he got going."
"Just keep it simple," Fred VanVleet added on Achiuwa. "Coach is very patient with him, so I think it's good for him and it'll allow him to grow."
It was the Achiuwa the Raptors have been missing for so much of this season. There'd be a glimpse of the good play early in the year, albeit surrounded by plenty of struggles, before a severe ankle injury sidelined him for nearly two months.
"I'm confident where I'm at right now," Achiuwa said. "I think I'm getting my rhythm back, which is the most important thing for me."
Later Christian Koloko opened the fourth with a stellar pass from the top of the arc, finding Gary Trent Jr. driving for an And-1 layup. Boucher followed it up moments later with a three-pointer of his own as Toronto's lead grew to eight early in the fourth.
"I think we feed off each other so well," Achiuwa said of Boucher. "He's able to read me, I'm able to read him. And it just feels great."
Fred VanVleet had a relatively quiet night as has been the case far too often this season. He failed to nail a single three-pointer through three quarters and mustered just one made field goal through his first 25 minutes. In the fourth, though, he proved his value. He found Anunoby in the corner for three then nailed a pair of back-breaking three-pointers to put Toronto up 15 late in the quarter
Siakam, meanwhile, was as advertised Tuesday. He's taken his game to a new level this season and has solidified himself as one of the league's top forwards. He rediscovered that old three-point stroke in the first quarter, nailing a pair from behind the arc as Toronto and Charlotte traded three-point buckets early. Barnes picked up assists on both his threes, finding him mid-way through the quarter with a beautiful no-look pass from deep in the paint as Siakam got Toronto going with 14 of his team-high 28 points in the first quarter.
If there was a nit to pick it was the defense that has been off and on all year for Toronto. Nurse had come into the game saying the Raptors needed to protect the paint and be prepared for Charlotte's kick-out passes. They weren't. Terry Rozier and Ball rained down threes all night as the Hornets racked up 94 points in the first three quarters.
"They're super explosive," Nurse said. "I think we just did enough there in the last six minutes"
Tuesday showed what Toronto can be at its best. The Raptors have plenty of talent in their starting lineup with five guys who are more than capable of lighting up the scoreboard when they're performing to their standards. The bench is deep, in theory, with players who have shown the ability to be productive in spurts too. It's just about playing to that level more consistently. If they can, the second half should be much better than the first.
Highlight of the Night
Barnes threw down a contender for Raptors' dunk of the year in the third quarter, spinning around Jalen McDaniels for a one-handed slam over Mason Plumlee
Up Next: Charlotte Hornets
The Raptors and Hornets will do it again Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. Et.
