Before many fans realized, the Toronto Raptors' six-game winning streak had been ended by the Suns yesterday.
Like their previous winning streak, the Raptors played another good game that caused a lot of difficulties for the league's number one team: They grabbed a season-high 22 offensive rebounds, caused the Suns to make a solid (averaging just 13.9 turnovers per game this season) 20 turnovers, and shot 15 more shots than the Suns in the whole game. In the middle of the fourth quarter, through Boucher's two free throws, they also led the Suns by two points at 83-81.
Boucher was pleased with the team's performance after the game: "Scotty (Barnes) is injured, Gary (Trent Jr.) can't play, they are two very important parts for our team. But we persevered. We couldn't shoot the whole game, and there were a lot of things that didn't go according to our plans, but we still did our best to figure out how to make the game play to the last minute. ”
After that, the Suns' brilliant transfer ball caught a hole in the Raptors' defense, and Crowder and Bridges' long-range shots gave Phoenix an advantage. The tenacious Raptors overtook the score again 1 minute before the end of the game, but the Suns' iron triangle was threatening at this moment: Devon Booker took advantage of Ayton's cover, received Paul's bottom line pass, and completed the fatal jumper to reverse the score. The Raptors were unable to respond again, and could only hate the defeat.
Booker shot 4-of-13 from the field and made three turnovers, but he threw in the most critical one, admitting that the opponent was very difficult: "They were fighting with us all the time, not giving us an easy shot, and I felt like they were going to knock us down. Fortunately, in the end we found the feeling of the game in time. ”
The NBA has become more and more inward-looking, with non-popular teams receiving less attention every day. As a Canadian team, the Raptors always seem to be out of the spotlight. No one cares about their slump at the start of the season, and no one notices their recent pick-up. People won't analyze their game carefully, and of course, even fewer will notice Fred VanVleet's performance this season.
Fortunately, Suns coach Monty Williams is not one of them, and after this game, he specifically praised VanVleet, who had 21 points and five assists: "I'm not sure there is a defender in the East who plays better than VanVleet. I just recently discussed this with another coach... I'm pretty sure he's a hot all-Star candidate. ”
There are a lot of star guards in the East, and despite Harden's poor performances this season, Demar DeRozan, Trae Young and Lamelo Ball still play at a high level. For many who haven't seen the Raptors this season, VanVleet seems incomparable to these players in the minds of most fans. But if you look at the statistics, you'll also think that the player who averages 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 40.3 percent three-point shooting rate should be mentioned at least on the All-Star bench list.
Of course, in addition to the data, we also have to look at the game. To all fans who think VanVleet isn't good enough to be an All-Star, I suggest you go and see the Raptors' game against the Jazz last week. Throughout the third quarter, he scored 24 points on 8-of-8 plus 5 free throws, including the 15-0 surge that a man played at the end of the quarter, single-handedly carrying the team out of the abyss of 14 points behind. His three-point shot, rebounding, and step-back left his opponent invincible, and at the end of the game, his stats were frozen at 37 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
His outstanding performance is not accidental, two games ago, he scored 33 points and seven assists in just three quarters, completely destroying the Spurs. After the Raptors' lead big brother Lowry left Toronto, he appeared to have become the team's de facto leader. When he gathered young people together on the pitch from time to time to practice two sentences, he looked no different from Lowry. He differs from Lowry in that he rarely keeps the ball in his hands all the time, on the contrary, preferring to receive jump shots from the team's forwards who have shown organizational talent rather than attacking with the ball himself, and he has shot more than 48% of the time this season. He can launch offense or pull away space, and when he's on the floor, the Raptors can win 14.3 points per 100 rounds. The Raptors can rank 9th in the league in offensive efficiency this season, and VanVleet is the best.
What really stands in their way is the team's defense. Yes, despite having a lot of talented athletes who are willing to put in the defensive end, the Raptors this season are far from an elite defensive team. They are always over-pressuring the ball, and once the opponent breaks through their first line of defense, they can get an easy layup or an empty shot opportunity – as the Suns did at the beginning of this article during the crucial period.
This Raptors is very different from the 2019 championship team also led by Nas. There was Marc Gasol, Danny Green, Sergi Ibaka, Kavay Leonard and Kyle Lowry in that team, all with a high defensive IQ and knowing how to choose a position on the defensive end, when to change defenses, when to pinch, when to delay? Each of them knows it all.
Now, the Raptors' roster is filled with young names like Anunoby, Scotty Barnes, Chris Boucher and even Dalaro Banton. So this season, Nas changed his coaching style, he allowed everyone on the team to bite the opponent, emphasizing the pressure on the ball carrier, so the Raptors played a very distinctive defensive performance: forcing the opponent to make a turnover rate of 14.8%, the second in the league; averaging 9.2 steals per game, the third in the league; averaging 31.8 rebounds per game, the first in the league; and the defensive efficiency of 110.3, the league's 20th.
After winning the Pelicans game on Monday, Nas criticized the team's defense: "I think we did a terrible job in defensive rotation tonight. We gave their bottom angle shooter too many empty slots when we didn't have to. When reading the opponent's offense, we still have a lot of room to grow in the decision to face cover. Our big men need to come back to position faster, while defenders on the weak side need to make better judgments, and they often do too much or too early to assist. ”
Reading the game requires a fast-moving brain, a wealth of game experience, and a lot of homework about opponents, which is not easy for the Raptors' youngsters. It's a pipe dream to want them to become scheming strategists like Chris Paul or Drummond Green overnight, but we can also see that in recent games, the Raptors have played good defensive rounds significantly more often.
Take, for example, a round against the Knicks. When Burkes tried to crush VanVleet with his body one-on-one, VanVleet decisively gave way and let him into the inside line, and Siakam stepped forward to defend him. Meanwhile, VanVleet signaled Anunoby, who was defending Barrett in the bottom corner, to return to the inside to make up for Ty Gibson, who was supposed to be defended by Siakam, while he himself went to the bottom corner to defend Barrett, who was farther away from the basket. Burks could not find a good point of departure, and could only force a shot against Siakam, and the Knicks' offense was fruitless. Rounds like this abound in this game.
VanVleet credited the team's progress on the defensive end to the trust between them: "To play the level of defense we have today, it takes five people to work together. You need to make a decisive judgment, react how you want, leave the rest to your teammates, and believe that the guy behind you can make the right and appropriate judgment. Of course, they can also make mistakes, but despite this, we are also one heart. ”
After a torn shoulder tissue in Siakam, an injury to Anunoby's hip, a repeat outbreak in Canada, an empty home and a health and safety deal that affected almost the entire roster, the Raptors are now eighth in the East with 20 wins and 18 losses. Marseille Ujerri and Nas knew what they were doing. Experience can be accumulated, tacit understanding can be cultivated, the team is full of potential and positive young geniuses, VanVleet is a good big brother, give them some time to grow, the Raptors will grind his minions again.
As a first-hand witness, Siakam clearly felt the team's progress during this time: "I can feel that we are getting better, we are improving together as a team. Obviously, this ascension gives us victory. ”
Stats will increase the value of players, as will performance and victory. As the value of the young players increases, we have no doubt that Ugery will seize the opportunity to make another wave of stealing and changing the day, so that the Raptors can return to the championship race again — as he once did.