Raptors clinch 2-seed (oh yeah and beat the Grizzlies)
And just like that the good guys improve to 4–1 in the bubble; they also helped us forget about the Celtics game, and more importantly, they clinched the 2-seed (which means a first-round matchup against either the lowly Magic or the replacement Nets).
Let’s get right into this 108–99 W over the Grizzlies with 4 things we liked and 1 thing we disliked.
LIKE #1 — No Excuses
Look, that Celtics loss definitely left a bitter taste in my mouth. I’m also not going to make any excuses for it either. I’m not going to say that Nurse was holding back in certain match-ups (specifically that OG guarded Hayward in the first half and Kemba in the second half — and didn’t guard Tatum, which we all know will be OG’s primary assignment come playoff time). I’m not going to say any of that. We lost. We played our best players heavy minutes until the Celtics blew the wheels off of us. They showed us their defense can be just as stout as ours (in fact, I think we got shook by how strong their defense was; the Celtics punched us right in the mouth in the opening minutes and we didn’t respond). Boston also exposed some underlying issues that our first 3 bubble wins helped cover over (more on that throughout this piece).
Also, we can’t pick and choose which wins and losses matter and which don’t (funny how it’s the Ws that count but not the Ls). The Celtics beat us. They also kind of embarrassed us (that’s what happens when you trail by 40 points).
But, you just knew that this team wasn’t going to lose to this Grizzlies team. No way we were dropping this game to the under-500 Grizzles after getting blown-out by the Celtics. Now don’t get we wrong: don’t discount this W against Memphis — this was a desperate team playing for their playoff lives (and desperate teams are dangerous).
But the Raptors prevailed and we got three seeding games to go before the fun begins! What Boston game?
LIKE #2 — Superstar Standards
Although he had productive games against the Lakers, Heat, and Magic, Siakam has yet to have that big breakout game where he reminds everyone just how F’N incredible and unique a superstar he is. But, he hasn’t had that game yet. He hasn’t that outing where he puts the team on his back, says I got us, and then spin-move-after-spin move-after-spin move leads us to victory. He hasn’t had that game yet.
He has yet to remind everyone he’s a top-10 player in the league, a soon-to-be-named All-NBA selection, and, simply put, the best player on the Raptors.
But against the Grizzlies, he gets Best Player On The Court honours. Sure, he didn’t have the big game that we all want — you know the one, where he drops 40+. But it’s progress nonetheless and was his best performance in the bubble.
In his first four bubble games, Spicy P was playing well below his 2019/2020 standards (he was also playing below his 2018/2019 standards when he took the league by storm spin move after spin move). He was putting up a humbling (by his standards) 15.8 points per game on just 37.9% overall shooting. Not ideal play from your superstar player.
If we have visions of going back-to-back we’re going to need to see more performances like this against the Grizzlies every single game…as the bare minimum; as the floor. We now have superstar standards for Siakam and he’s going to have to reach those heights in order for this team to make it back to the Finals. The Raptors will go as far as Siakam can take them.
Against the Grizzlies, he wasn’t forcing things on offense; he was taking high percentage shots, he was taking the open three with confidence, he was running ahead in transition, making catch-and-shoot triples, and he even had the spin move going.
He also helped Ja Morant get that gahbage outta here!
Siakam finished with a team-high 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting (4-for-9 from three) and, most importantly, took a giant step forward to meeting ours and his superstar standards.
LIKE #3 — Best Raptor in the Bubble
After 5 bubble games, the mantle of Best Raptor In the Bubble belongs to Fred VanVleet. It’s a unanimous decision.
Heading into the Grizzlies game, FVV was putting up 20.8 points, 7.3 assists, 4.5 boards while being a living-breathing flame of fire from long-range (43.3%). We all know Lowry is the best point guard in the East but FVV sure as hell has a claim to be the second best. I know you aren’t picking Kemba “Zero Playoff Wins” Walker or Ben “Scared To Shoot Threes” Simmons over FVV (and nor am I).
So much of our offense is VanVleet getting past the first line of defense, then kicking the ball out, and the ball swinging to the open man — all due to FVV’s relentless dribble-drive game. It also seems like FVV has been the conductor of the offense lately more-so than Lowry. Perhaps a very slight passing of the torch moment? Something to keep an eye on.
Oh yeah, FVV did FVV things. He finished with 14 points, 5 dimes, 3 boards, 2 blocks, and another key deflection late in the game (much like he did against the Heat). Consider this your friendly reminder that FVV leads the league in deflections (4.2 per game) and is fourth in steals with 1.8 (just for fun he had 4 swipes against Memphis).
LIKE #4 — The Bench Heating Up
If you’ve been following along here at Life In Repeat, you know we’ve been monitoring our second unit productivity.
Against the Lakers, our bench scored 15 points on 25% and 11.1% shooting.
Against the Heat, we were outscored 56–22.
Against the Magic, we actually looked decent. Bench scored 40; Norm had 14; Ibaka had 11; RHJ with 7. Our shooting splits were 44.8% and 36.4%. Not bad.
Versus Boston, Norm missed all four of his threes and was a -19 while Ibaka was 1-for-9 and 0-for-4 from distance. Very bad.
Not exactly the results we were hoping for — especially with a fully healthy squad (heal up McCaw). But, perhaps therein lies the problem. With a fully healthy squad, it was going to take time for certain players to get used to a reduced role; especially as the Raptors have battled injuries all year (219 player games lost to injury). When Gasol was injured, Ibaka got used to playing starter minutes; when Norm was injured, Terence Davis was used to getting those sixth or seventh man minutes; when FVV was injured, Norm was used to playing closer to 30 minutes per game. And on and on it goes. While being healthy is the ideal situation, it’s also something we haven’t been all season. So it was always going to take time for everyone to get familiar (again) with their original roles.
In the first 4 bubble games, Norm was back to his old inconsistent ways putting up just 10.0 points with 22.2% three-point shooting. We need him to find that groove he was in right before the shutdown and his left ankle injury. We need Ibaka to get going again too as he was our low-key Most Important Player before the shutdown. In Ibaka’s first four bubble games, he too was struggling with just 8.0 points per game and 15.4 % (yikes!) three-point shooting.
We also have Terence Davis struggling with just 2.3 points on 33.3% shooting from both the field and from long-range (we’re not counting the Celtics garbage time minutes here people).
Simply put: we need more from Norm, Ibaka, and TD2 in less minutes than they were getting when everyone was banged up.
Against the Grizzlies though, we got signs of life! Norm gave us 16 points on 4-for-8 shooting including 7 trips to the line. Ibaka diversified his offensive portfolio with 12 points, 12 rebounds, 3 dimes (he had 1 assist total in his first 4 bubble games), 3 steals, 2 blocks, and 2 triples.
Terence Davis — not much new to report here.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out though to Matt Thomas off the bench. He played 5 first-half minutes and hit two threes that gave the Raptors some confidence after a poor shooting opening frame (Raptors started the game 0-for-6 and was outscored 21–3 in threes after the first quarter). But Thomas came in, caught fire, and helped swing momentum.
DISLIKE — Time To Let Go
Tell me there isn’t anyone out there who thinks we still win the title with JV instead of Gasol. Please tell me there isn’t. I like to think by now that we all collectively know that Gasol exists on a higher plane of basketball than fan favourite Jonas Valanciunas.
Gasol’s playmaking unlocked another level for our offense to get to. His playmaking makes those around him better (Norm easily gets 4–6 points per game by just cutting hard when Gasol is operating at the elbow). He’s a legit threat from downtown thus legitimately spreading the floor in a way JV never could. Gasol is also an elite defender and without his D on Embiid, I’m not convinced we get out of the second round last season.
Look JV stans, it’s time to let go.
Before we wrap up, be sure to check out my latest visit to the South of the 6ix podcast.
You can find the South of the 6ix podcast on iTunes or wherever else you get your podcasts.
Follow host Adam Corsair on Twitter: @AdamCorsair
Follow South of the 6ix on Twitter: @SouthOfThe6ix
Until next time…
Show your support and follow us on Twitter: @lifeinrepeat
