With their lives hanging below the line, the Raptors rebounded strongly to take Philadelphia, rewriting the total score to 1-3 and avoiding being swept. In this game, Raptors shooting guard Trent performed well, not only did he score 24 points in the second consecutive game, but he also had a good limit on the defensive end of the Philadelphia main force.
Official data shows that Trent played harden at the defensive end for 1 minute and 51 seconds, defending Harden to 1 of 6 shots and 1 mistake. Meanwhile, Trent countered Embiid 1 minute and 01 seconds on the defensive end, putting Embiid on 0-of-2 range. That said, Philadelphia's two cores are a total of 1-of-8 under Trent's defense.
But Trent's defense isn't just against Harden and Embiid. Defending Harris, Trent defended his opponent to 1-of-4 shooting. While defending Maxi, Trent defended his opponent to 0-of-2 shooting. And then there's Danny Green, who made 0-of-1 shooting under Trent's defense.
Throughout the game, Trent caused Philadelphia a huge problem on the defensive end.
Trent on the offensive end has also rebounded strongly in the last two games. In both games, he scored 24 points, and Trent, who returned home, played significantly better than the slump on the road.
As the second-round pick of 2018 (second round, overall 37th pick), the 23-year-old Trent has now gradually proved himself.
Trent averaged a career-high 18.3 points per game in the regular season, and after being traded to the Raptors by the Blazers last season, he got more opportunities and improved his personal performance. Although the Raptors still have a gap in strength from Philadelphia, Trent's daring to fight also represents the Raptors' fearlessness.
In this team that has fallen and begun to rebound, Trent is now clearly an indispensable player. Currently, he's averaging 14.3 points per game in the playoffs, the Raptors' third-highest scorer in the playoffs this season, and higher than VanVleet, who was named an All-Star this season (averaging 13.8 points per game). It's not easy for a player who isn't experienced in the playoffs.
If Trent can continue to play like this, I believe he can negotiate with the Raptors in advance this summer to renew his contract. Currently, Trent has a two-year contract left, but the 2023-24 season is a player option with an annual salary of $17.28 million next season. If he can give up the player option, then he can also sign a contract extension with the Raptors early this summer, just like the Nets renewed Durant early last summer, and the Warriors renewed Curry early, and he can also get a bigger contract with better performance.