The Raptors tipped off their 30th season in somewhat fitting fashion with a 30-point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only did they get blown out, but Immanuel Quickley did not suit up in the second half after a hard fall late in the second quarter. However, the Raptors can’t hang their heads as they face off against the Philiadeple 76ers on Friday. So, heading into the matchup against former head coach Nick Nurse, here’s what the Raptors need to address.
What Issues the Raptors Must Address After Opening Night Loss
Limit Open Threes
Last season, Toronto finished with a 118.8 defensive rating, giving Toronto the 26th-worst defense in the league. Heading into the new season, Coach Darko Rajakovic emphasized the importance of improving the team’s defense. Part of this new and improved team defense was upping ball pressure and collapsing driving lanes by bringing two to the ball. However, if the Raptors want to play this style, they must improve their perimeter rotations. Against the Cavaliers, their rotations were a step or two slow, only rotating out to shooters after the pass was made. According to NBA tracking data, this led to 15 wide-open threes for Cleveland and nine open threes. Of the Cavaliers’ 30 three-point attempts, 24 were open or wide-open, with Cleveland knocking down 13 or shooting 54.1% on open/wide-open threes.
To limit open threes in the future, Toronto must quickly improve their rotations. Instead of rotating as the pass is happening or after, the team needs to take a page from the Denver Nuggets’ notebook and rotate as the help is coming. If you bring two to the ball, the other three players must rotate together to cover the open space left.
Limit Points in the Paint
If you aren’t going to remove the three-point shot, you have to remove the paint, which the Raptors didn’t come close to doing. The Cavaliers routinely found their way to easy paint points, taking 52 of their 87 field goal attempts in the paint. Like their perimeter rotations, the Raptors were a step behind rotating to the paint or didn’t at all. Due to their lacking size throughout the roster and starting lineup, paint rotations have to be a step ahead of the offense; otherwise, there’s no point. Everything begins with the Raptors perimeter defenders keeping their man in front of them better. From there, the team can work on collapsing driving lanes before opposing players get two feet in the paint. If Toronto can work on these things, their poor rotations will become less of an issue.
The Last Word
It is only the first game of the season, and it’s not good to overreact to any one match. But, the Raptors have to tackle the horrible defense and slow rotations fast. One silver lining is that the team and the players know this needs to be worked on. In his postgame interview, Scottie Barnes put it bluntly when he said the team got their butts kicked, but they will get better and learn from it. Chris Boucher echoed Barnes’s sentiment, using the loss as a wake-up call for the team.
