The Raptors completely tanked a game in which Joel Embiid sat out. Outside of Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby, it was a disastrous performance by the entire team who were run out of their own gym. william_lou explores that and more.
The Raptors completely tanked a game in which Joel Embiid sat out. Outside of Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby, it was a disastrous performance by the entire team who were run out of their own gym. The defensive effort was lacking from start to finish, save for a half-hearted push in the third quarter that was quickly stamped out once the second unit returned.
But the Raptors also compounded their own mistakes with a needlessly aggressive defensive scheme of hard-trapping James Harden at the expense of open threes and gaping driving lanes for the Sixers’ supporting cast. Sure, Harden was limited to 11 points and five turnovers, but the Raptors lacked both the hustle and the cohesiveness to guard 4-on-3. Tyrese Maxey started off the first quarter knocking in four threes and rode that wave of confidence into a stunning 44-point career night.
At the other end of the court, VanVleet forced two pull-up threes during their third quarter push that came nowhere close to falling, despite him never having a rhythm at any point. Ultimately, it was a mistake by Nurse to play VanVleet for 34 minutes when he couldn’t even create a basket off a 2-on-1 fast break, nor manage to shake Georges “The Minivan” Niang in isolation. This performance was so out of character that something must be up.
He only took seven shots and never once took it into the paint on a night when the Sixers started five players who were all smaller than him, and without a center to challenge him at the rim. The one time he tried to attack, Barnes settled for a contested pull-up with 13 seconds on the clock.