Uncompetitive Raptors Embarrassed in Loss to Pelicans
The Toronto Raptors are trying to be competitive.
There’s no point in tanking. They’ve won too many games to have a better than 50-50 shot to keep their top-six protected first-round pick this year and this year’s draft has widely been considered among the worst in recent memory. Keeping that pick may not even be that valuable anyway.
So what exactly is the plan?
“I think for … where we're at right now, the first thing we got to do is to learn how to fight, how to be competitive, how to find ways to stay in games,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said Tuesday. “We're preparing like the next game is the most important game in the world. For us, everything is going that way.”
Let’s just say, there’s still a lot of work to be done.
Tuesday's 139-98 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans was among the worst showings by the team all season.
It was a disaster.
Twice the Raptors failed to successfully inbound the ball in the first quarter alone. For a team that has talked so much about limiting turnovers, these kinds of silly turnovers came far too frequently on Tuesday.
Nobody was expecting Toronto to pull off the upset against a Pelicans team that has been one of the best in the Western Conference this season. The loss of Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl has essentially left Toronto’s roster devoid of any above-average defensive talent.
But still, it can’t be this bad.
Even the Memphis Grizzlies, without a single one of their regular starters for essentially the second half of this season, don’t regularly look this uncompetitive.
Save for a flurry of three-pointers from Gary Trent Jr. to open the night, Toronto’s offense mustered almost nothing. Toronto shot 42% from the floor before New Orleans pulled its regulars and turned it over to the deep bench with eight minutes to go in the fourth.
The biggest contribution off the bench for Toronto seemed to be the trash-talking that went back and forth every time the Pelicans nailed a three-pointer in the first half.
The Pelicans simply toyed with Toronto.
At one point in the first half, Zion Williamson drew a foul and walked over to the Raptors bench to shake hands with former Pelicans’ teammate Garrett Temple before heading to the free-throw line.
It looked like practice for New Orleans who whizzed the ball around the court with ease, sending Toronto’s defensive rotations into chaos. When the Pelicans did need some shot creation, Williamson and Brandon Ingram showed more than enough.
Ingram sent Jordan Nwora spinning around with a crossover in the second quarter before throwing down a ferocious one-handed slam dunk.
Williamson couldn’t be slowed by RJ Barrett and dropped 16 points on 11 shots, finishing the night an assist and two rebounds shy of a triple-double. He capped his night by beating every Raptors player down the court and scoring an alley-oop in transition.
Trey Murphy III single-handedly outscored Toronto's second unit off the Pelicans bench, nailing 10 three-pointers to finish the night with a season-high 34 points in 29 minutes.
Toronto’s starters kept things close for the first seven or so minutes, but once the bench checked in, everything unraveled. The Pelicans went on a 10-0 run to start the second quarter and it wasn’t long before New Orleans jumped ahead by 26 before the break.
If the goal is to find who from this bench can stick around long-term, Tuesday certainly left the Raptors looking for answers. Gradey Dick had a rough night, shooting 1-for-7 from the floor and it wasn’t until Toronto turned to Javon Freeman-Liberty in the second half that the Raptors got anything off the bench.
"(He) brought some energy there right away when he jumped in on a court," Rajaković said of Liberty-Freeman.
The Raptors pulled within 18 on a three-pointer from Freeman-Liberty, but the Pelicans quickly responded, pushing the lead to 30 and never looking back.
Maybe the most alarming part of the loss was Toronto’s continued struggles at the free-throw line. Sure, Toronto can chalk the blowout loss up to not having some key players, but RJ Barrett’s free-throw woes this year have been rather strange.
The Canadian forward came into Tuesday night shooting 59% from the free-throw line with the Raptors and proceeded to go 1-for-5 from the line against the Pelicans. He missed his first two attempts then split the pair on his second trip to the line.
None of this can continue.
It’s one thing if Toronto was ready to tank and sitting its starters, but for a team that’s genuinely trying to learn, Tuesday’s showing simply wasn’t good enough.
Up Next: Phoenix Suns
The Raptors will open a four-game road trip Thursday night when they head to Phoenix to take on Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns at 9 p.m. ET.
