A land before 3-pointers existed
Why would we even bother talking about the ‘Casey Curse’ that continues to hang over the Raptors? Dwane Casey continues to spin golden performances out of his players relative to expectations, yes, but what are the original expectations and should the Raptors be able to win regardless? Regardless, they don’t. Glad we have that figured out, let’s talk about something more interesting.
The Pistons and Raptors met in the middle of the court, shook hands, and agreed that the 3-point shot was of shockingly little importance to either of them, and especially the team from Toronto. For context, taking into account all other NBA games played this year, the Raptors took less 3’s than 91-percent of them. The Pistons teased 12 more points from behind the line than the Raptors did, but they took 11 more shots to get there. Both teams were trying to balance their absolute ineptitude from beyond the arc with an earnest attempt to make the defense respect them and to move accordingly.
How Pascal Siakam managed to shoot 10-15 from the field with 8 makes in the paint against a Pistons team that doubled (and even tripled) him every time he got below 18-feet is astounding. And it really showed the limitations of this offense when it’s missing 2 of it’s 3 shooters (with the other shooting 4-23). Siakam is definitely capable of changing the complexion of a defense, but when there’s no yin to his yang, the defensive calculus becomes rather simple. The Pistons never doubled from the middle, then someone could cut middle. They doubled from the top, because they weren’t scared of anyone’s shooting. They sat in the paint and obligated wizardry from the likes of Siakam. Every shot he put up looked like he went through hell.
Scottie Barnes performed admirably against, mostly, single-coverage. Precious Achiuwa came on in a big way as a cutter late, and even brought a bit of off-the-bounce creation. Opposite these jumbo shot creators was the Raptors more diminutive players. Malachi Flynn and Gary Trent Jr. both possess more shooting talent than the bigger fellas on the roster, and they operated in significantly different fashion. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, Flynn has been a very conservative decision maker so far in his career and Trent Jr. has not. Flynn took the possessions that came his way, created very little – more, if Birch had hit some of the easy pop shots – and remained efficient in a limited capacity. Trent Jr. attempted to fix the Raptors lack of spacing himself and came up short. Neither found the sweet spot. A more daring disposition from Flynn might have yielded better results, the inverse might have worked for Trent Jr. Imperfect.
This frames just how difficult it is to win in the NBA without shooting, and how NBA players can’t simply start doing something because it’s what the defense dictates. The Pistons were unmoving in what they asked the Raptors to do, and individual Raptors continuously opted to try and do what they know they’re good at in increasingly claustrophobic and difficult situations, rather than to try and shoot the damn thing over a defense that packed the paint on them. It really speaks to how players are creatures of habit. Despite Siakam having more spacing when VanVleet shares the floor with him, he’s much more likely to shoot a three in that situation because he’s more likely to get that opportunity out of a pick n’ pop or a corner shot. With Anunoby and VanVleet out? All habits are broken, and the Raptors are just trying to survive in the short (or long?) term.
This is also what makes Achiuwa’s offensive upside so intriguing. He’s been objectively poor on that end of the floor this season. The touch around the rim is bad, the ability to find space as a cutter, roller, whatever, it’s bad, and his idea of how much he’s able to accomplish is larger than the actuality of it. But, he has an advanced handle for his size, a fluid jumper, and can access off the bounce combos that are rare. In a game where the Raptors were begging someone to break from their role into something bigger, Achiuwa jumping into the fray almost helped them steal it. Of course, Siakam was the guiding light, Barnes was great on offense as well, but the Raptors needed to find a way through the maze of spacing deprived NBA game and they nearly did it.
“I’m just getting in my rhythm, I think. I’m starting to find my rhythm offensively.” Achiuwa said after the game. “Right now I’m just in a good space. Just taking the shots that are presented to me, and like I said, I’m in rhythm, I feel good offensively, and I’m just reading the flow of the game.”
And truthfully, if the Raptors shot better at the free throw line – the least glamorous place on a basketball court – they probably could’ve stolen this one.
Hard to peddle silver linings when it comes to losses against this Pistons team, though. These are just dark clouds on the schedule.
Have a blessed day.
A land before 3-pointers existed originated on Raptors Republic.