The Toronto Raptors’ slide has hit two, and all of a sudden they are back below .500.
After a red-hot 13-3 start, Toronto went back and forth with the Portland Trail Blazers (who were on the second night of a back-to-back) throughout the game, each team hitting the other with a flurry of buckets to continuously bring things back to an even mark, until, eventually, the Raptors could no longer hold on.
A tough road trip continues against the Utah Jazz on Thursday, with five more games to go before the Raptors can return home to Scotiabank Arena. They’re now 5-2 as the away team.
Here are three (brief) Raptors takeaways from the night that was.
Raptors Takeaways After Loss To Trail Blazers
VanVleet, all heart
After he missed the last game against Detroit with a groin injury, Fred VanVleet made his return on Monday night, and it largely wasn’t pretty.
Evidently, the groin issue was bothering him throughout the game, as he looked stiffer than usual and was a step slow on a lot of defensive possessions. Altogether, he wasn’t moving particularly well.
It was a surprise, then, when he managed to muster the energy to take over in the fourth quarter by delivering a barrage of ridiculously difficult triples. He came down the floor not once, but twice in transition and nailed deep, forward-leaning pull-ups that made perfect rainbow arcs as they made their way up and then down through the mesh.
He also, on another late possession in which the Raptors were creating second chances for themselves via their offensive rebounding but couldn’t seem to knock down anything, was the one who stepped up to splash yet another three.
All told, VanVleet helped the Raptors cut the lead all the way to one as the game was in its waning moments, but CJ McCollum came right back and spearheaded a final mini-run that ended Toronto’s night.
Still, it was another highly impressive showing by the Raptors’ leader. A performance full of heart, hustle, and fortitude.
Short-roll fun
One of the most satisfying parts of the Raptors’ offense against the Blazers (and really this whole season) was the passes ball screeners made on the short roll.
Whether it was the likes of Khem Birch or Pascal Siakam, the Raptors’ rollers were on-point in making the second pass out of the pick-and-roll when the Blazers defense collapsed in on them. There was one textbook play in particular, in which VanVleet was trapped and dished the ball off to Birch, who then, without hesitation, fired it out to a wide-open OG Anunoby at the arc for a three.
It’s the kind of offense that everyone loves—it’s aesthetically pleasing for fans, it’s fluid for the players, and it’s the result of proper execution for coaches. It’s the last point that’s the most important, though—the Raptors were creating and capitalizing on looks generated by good process, which is all that can really be asked for.
While the half-court offense has certainly been inconsistent and unstable in a lot of ways, the short-roll work has been some of the most impressive stuff Toronto has done this season.
Defense in 4th
When it came down to it, the Raptors’ defense just wasn’t good enough again.
It did have a different vibe than what occurred in Detroit, though—this wasn’t the Raptors totally discombobulated, although there was certainly some of that. Instead, a lot of it looked like the team’s leaders hindered by injury (Siakam working his way back, VanVleet dealing with his groin, etc.), Scottie Barnes making some understandable rookie errors, and the Blazers’ all-star back court taking advantage of a tight game at home.
If the Raptors are going to come away from some of these closely contested games as the winners, though, they’re going to have to mitigate at least a few of the mistakes they’re making now. A lot of them are the same ones iterated in the last takeaways piece, so there’s no point in repeating them here.
Unfortunately, asking for a string of synergistic defensive performances is going to be a tall order with key players banged up.
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