The 2018-2019 NBA champions are struggling right from the get-go. The start of the 2020-2021 season has not been kind to the Toronto Raptors, as the Raptors fell to 0-2 after losing to the San Antonio Spurs 119-114.
Veteran guard Kyle Lowry had reflected on the loss against the Spurs:
“We’re nowhere near where we want to be defensively, but it takes hard work, it takes dedication of watching film, understanding who we’re playing against and making adjustments on the fly…“I think we’ll watch some film tomorrow and the next day and see what we did bad and what we did good and try to build off the good end of things rather than dwell on the bad things,” Lowry remarked, via Steven Loung of Sportsnet.
Leaving the bubble last season after losing against the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs, leaders such as Lowry and Fred VanVleet proved to the NBA world that they didn't need Kawahi Leonard to be a competitive team and a contender for the title.
However, with these defensive struggles setting the Raptors back 0-2, VanVleet attributes the problems the Raptors are experiencing on the court to communication.
“I am not going to give anybody credit for communicating, myself included…We got to do a much better job of that. So to answer your question, everybody on the team needs to be better on that end of the floor communicating, starting with myself and I think that will help our defence out. I mean there’s nobody in the building so there’s no excuse to not be talking. It’s quiet as hell out there,” VanVleet said, via Steven Loung of Sportsnet.
The Raptors will need to find a solution soon, as they take on the Philadelphia 76ers next.
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