Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Raptors Show Strength in Numbers With Unconventional Roster Paying Dividends in Victory Over 76ers
This is what the Toronto Raptors have been working toward.
Sure, there's nothing conventional about having five nearly identical players on the court together, but the Raptors have shown this season they aren't concerned about convention. It's why they were so eager to draft Scottie Barnes last July, doubling down on a roster full of 6-foot-9 wings rather than going with a guard or finding a traditional big. It's also why, on Monday, they weren't concerned about the loss of Fred VanVleet and their lack of guard depth in a do-or-die Game 6 in Philadelphia. Instead, Toronto played to its strengths. Try beating our length, they dared the Philadelphia 76ers.
They couldn't.
In Game 5, the Raptors proved that crazy can still beat tradition, as Toronto once again staved off elimination and forced Game 6 with a 103-88 victory in Philadelphia.
Siakam Asserts Himself Again
This series has been the tail of two parts for Pascal Siakam and Toronto. After a mediocre first two games and a miserable Game 3, Siakam has totally flipped the script on the 76ers with aggressive play that's transformed Toronto's offense.
Even with his right wrist in a brace for the first time this series, Siakam showed no signs of injury in Game 5. He let others find a groove early with the kind of brilliant passing that returned him to All-NBA form in the regular season. Then, in the third quarter, he did it himself. He got to his spots in the mid-range, nailing his classic go-to pull-up jumper, and even mixed in one of his two three-pointers for the night.
"He made some big tough buckets when there wasn't much going and those are huge, you know, your scorer needs to produce some baskets on his own sometimes and he was able to do that," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.
That aggressiveness carried over into the fourth quarter where Siakam made his presence felt, keeping Toronto's offense moving by getting into the teeth of Philadelphia's defense and either taking it himself or finding his teammates like OG Anunoby who nailed a crucial three-pointer to put the Raptors up 12 with four minutes to go. Moments later, Anunoby threw down a one-handed slam and Siakam clinched the game with another one of his patented floaters.
"I thought he was composed, he was taking his time when he needed to, he was finding people, especially late," Nurse added. "It’s great that he’s seeing both situations because you’ve got to take what’s there and sometimes, they’re spraying out to stop Gary or OG from getting a three and guys are cutting in behind him and he’s finding those guys, too.
"Really good composure by him."
Siakam's 23 points led all scorers as he finished the night shooting 10-for-17 from the floor with 10 rebounds and seven assists.
"Just give him the ball, get out of the way," said Anunoby who tallied 18. "He's a really talented player. He can score from anywhere and he makes his teammates better."
Everyone Chips In
The NBA playoffs are all about exploiting an opponent's weakness. Take Matisse Thybulle, for example, the 76ers' defensive superstar who is a virtual zero offensively. For all the success he has in the regular season, he's nearly unplayable in the playoffs because teams like the Raptors are content to play off of him, essentially playing 5-on-4 defensively.
With the Raptors, conversely, there's no major weakness. One through eight, everyone can do a little bit of everything. No, they don't have a superstar like Joel Embiid who can just take over a game, but what they lack in star power they make up for in depth.
From Khem Birch's early buckets including his second three-pointer of the series to the defense of Chris Boucher, and the suddenly skilled passing from Gary Trent Jr. who made a pair of heads-up kick-out passes to Precious Achiuwa in the second quarter, the Raptors are a team without a glaring weakness teams can pick on.
"We have long, athletic guys. Skilled (guys), and we just try to take advantage of every mismatch that we had," said Achiuwa who finished the night with 17 points off the bench. "Call out guys that we feel we should attack. And we just put them in pick-and-roll situations and make them play. And we just take whatever we get off that."
Defense Stands Tall
The 76ers had no answers for Toronto's size. Everywhere they looked Monday night there were limbs clogging passing lanes and the kind of length that nobody outside of Embiid could exploit. Embiid got his early, but Toronto double-teamed him on the catch relentlessly, forcing the 76ers' secondary players to make timely buckets.
Unlike the last time the Raptors visited Philadelphia, though, Tyrese Maxey couldn't pick on a hobbled VanVleet and the 76ers' role players could find mismatches to exploit. Even James Harden, who the Raptors aren't double-teaming as ferociously as they had earlier in the series, couldn't get going. Both he and Embiid combined for just 35 points and six free-throw attempts each.
"I think we are just trying to be aggressive. That’s the main thing. I think (Embiid) is such a focal part of their offence, just as much as he makes us work on the other side, we have to make him work too," said Siakam after the Raptors held Embiid to 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting.
The 15 turnovers Toronto forced kept the 76ers out of their groove all night, at times leading to a chorus of boos from the Philadelphia fans.
"Sometimes, the Philly fans, they’re tough," said Thad Young, who spent seven seasons as a 76er. "They’re a tough crowd, they’re gonna let you know when you’re doing great, they’re gonna let you know when you’re doing wrong, and they wanna see their guys play hard."
VanVleet Injury Update
It doesn't sound like VanVleet will be back in this series, but that might be for the better right now. He didn't look healthy last time out and the Raptors can't afford to have him playing through injury.
Up Next: Game 6 in Toronto
The Raptors will have a pair of off days before returning to the court Thursday night in Toronto for a 7 p.m. ET tipoff with a chance to force a Game 7.
