Watch: Fred VanVleet & Nick Nurse Rip Into Raptors' Effort Level

Should it really take yelling?

Is that where this Toronto Raptors team is at? They need to be yelled at to play inspired basketball? C'mon, man.

"We’re professionals, it shouldn’t take that," said a frustrated Fred VanVleet. "You gotta show up to work and do your job every day. It’s not about box score stats, it’s not about scoring, it’s not about awards, it’s not about individual accolades or individual plays, it’s about winning ball games and doing things the right and we just can’t seem to sustain that long enough to win against teams we must think we’re better than. It doesn’t work like that in the NBA because they were the better team tonight."

It's simply inexcusable for such a young team with so many players fighting for their NBA careers to just not show up. It's been the story all season from Toronto's bench that ranks last in the NBA in scoring. Aside from a few strong showings, most recently against the Wizards, the group as a whole has shown up sluggish and ill-prepared far too often this year, Wednesday night being no exception.

"I thought the other guys were soft, and unenergetic and not playing their role," said Raptors coach Nick Nurse after watching his bench get outscored 29-14 by the Oklahoma City Thunder. "They’re supposed to come off the bench and provide energy and they weren’t getting any stops, weren’t getting any rebounds, were fumbling balls around."

What Wednesday night did do was open the door for rookie Justin Champagnie who stepped into the bench hole and played the entire fourth quarter. It was the most minutes he'd played in a game all season and yet he looked totally comfortable on the court, unfazed by the moment.

"That's one thing I always tell myself is just, mentally, be ready," he said. "Always try to stay ready. That's just a mental thing. Just be ready, and all the nerves will just flush out and stuff."

So now, it's back to the drawing board for the Raptors as they try to figure out how to rejig the bench and keep this young group playing inspired basketball. Toronto knows the formula for success in this league. If they play hard, work together on defense, and communicate, everything else will fall in line. It simply shouldn't take getting yelled at to make that work.

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