Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Raptors Starters do Just Enough to Overcome Another Disappointing Bench Performance vs. Knicks
How would the Toronto Raptors respond?
That was the question coming into Friday night's game against the New York Knicks. Wednesday night's showing had been unacceptable and if not for a COVID-19 scare Thursday there would have been a long day of practice. Toronto had fallen into a concerning pattern of effortless performances, Fred VanVleet said following Wednesday's game.
Well, on a night where the bench once again failed to show up, Toronto's starters did just barely enough, putting the clamps on the Knicks late and eking out a far-from-pretty 90-87 victory Friday night.
"Wasn't a perfect game by any stretch, but I think some of us understand the offense is going to be an adventure," Fred VanVleet said. "That's what Nick [Nurse] and I like to call it. But defensively man, we really fought and scrapped and I thought that we just deserved to win tonight."
An "adventure" is certainly one way to describe a 34.5% shooting performance from Toronto. But for as bad as the offense was, the Raptors defense really did hold its own, repeatedly forcing the Knicks into difficult shots late.
"It was good connectivity," Nurse said. "It took everybody on some of those possessions and, look, like all the guys were moving in sync and stood in there pretty good."
When Pascal Siakam missed what would have been a game-sealing jumper, Scottie Barnes got right back down on defense, walling off RJ Barrett and forcing Julius Randle into a contested late-clock three-pointer.
But this game could have looked very different had the Raptors bench done much of anything. After an impressive first quarter from Toronto's starters that at one point put the Raptors up by 20, all that energy was sapped when the bench checked in. Within minutes the game was tied.
"Do I have anything nice to say about the bench?" Nurse said with a laugh. "Let me see here."
While he certainly wasn't as frustrated as he had been Wednesday night, the 39 to 10 bench scoring disparity certainly wouldn't cut it most nights.
Siakam Shooting Sputters
Siakam’s hot shooting of late came to a screeching halt Friday night as he puttered his way through 3-for-18 shooting performance. It didn't look all that different from the nights prior in the sense that he was still getting to his mid-range spots. The shots just weren't falling this time, as he went 0-for-9 from the mid-range.
"That's another example, he goes three for, what is that, 18, and played a really good game," Nurse said.
Siakam finished the night with 1
Highlight of the Night
Barnes somehow saw through a forest of bodies to find VanVleet for a catch-and-shoot three.
Was it surprising to VanVleet, the recipient of the pass?
"No, he surprises you guys. But I’m hard on him. He's gonna be a really good player in this league," said the Raptors leader. "He has a really, really high ceiling. ...There's really nothing he can't do out there on the court. It's just about finding that winning basketball because he has a huge role on this team."
Up Next: Sacramento Kings
The Raptors will wrap up their road trip on Monday night when the Sacramento Kings come to town.
