Analysis | Raptors defeat Knicks by playing the long game

There will surely be talks about who should start for the Raptors and who should come off the bench, which groups of two or three should always play together, and which nine, 10 or 11 players should be part of “the rotation,” because it’s the nature. human. thinking otherwise might be a better way.

But that’s all noise right now. Everything will work out in due time, and no one should expect definitive answers in a week or two weeks or even a month.

Right now, the team finally has a lot of very good healthy players at the same time, and please forgive coach Nick Nurse for not wanting to rush into firm decisions. He’ll play with things, work on things, figure things out as the Raptors go along, more than willing to play the long game because that’s the most important game.

The first look was a good one, a 120-105 win by the New York Knicks Sunday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena, but it was just one step on a long journey and while a lot of good things happened, rushing to judge is reckless.

“We have to fix it and calculate rotations and all of that in a positional way,” Nurse said before the Raptors won for the second time in a row in an eerily empty arena. “It will be interesting to find out who is playing in what position, how (other teams) are playing against us and who is doing what. It will also be interesting to work on our big ones. “

The rotation worked very well, and it was a very manufactured group the day he put the game aside early. A starter and backup combination of Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Svi Mykhailiuk, Chris Boucher and Precious Achiuwa started the Raptors with a 15-1 run to open the second quarter.

“I think it was probably a lineup that I’m not sure I’ve put together or seen before,” Nurse said.

But that’s where the Raptors are and should be.

Having the group together now is about figuring out the nuances of groups and positions and moving forward, rather than dodging positive COVID-19 tests and injuries like they have. And if there was any doubt about the long-term goals (the need to use this midseason period to get familiar and, to use a nurse word, “connectivity”), the coach started Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., Anunoby, Barnes and Pascal Siakam not because of what they were able to do on Sunday, but because of what he wants them to be able to do in May and June.

“Depending on who we’re playing (the starting lineup) still matters, but I hope this group gives us our best defensive team at the end of games and things like that,” Nurse said before the game.

“If they can do a few reps together and have some connection and stuff like that, hopefully it’s going to be a really tough defensive team, and that’s the bottom line: discovering our best defensive team and then figuring out where the offense is coming from. of every night “.

Sunday’s offensive came from predictable sources. VanVleet lit up the Knicks with 35 points on just 17 shots, and Siakam missed his first career triple-double with 20 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists.

VanVleet’s wonderfully inexpensive night came primarily because the other Raptors moved the ball decisively and attacked the rim consistently. VanVleet leaned back and fired shots.

“Catching and shooting is a lot easier than trying to make it happen, sure. I’m very self-conscious, ”VanVleet said. “Between (Siakam), Scottie and OG, the three guys who can create and create mismatches and advantages, the defense is showing a lot of attention to those guys. And then we have me and Gary discovering the outside. I think it’s a good way to play for us.

“Pascal has been very aggressive getting to his places and doing the correct readings. So that’s a good way to build offense. “

The Raptors were really measuring themselves Sunday, because the nine-man Knicks didn’t look like a good NBA team.

Injuries and ubiquitous health and safety protocols left New York without star forward Julius Randle, as well as two regulars Kemba Walker and Derrick Rose. Evan Fournier had 20 points and RJ Barrett 19, but the Knicks were outscored early on.

For the Raptors, however, the true measure is not against the opponent. It compares to what they eventually want to be, now that they are together again.

“It felt good,” VanVleet said. “You just want to have more weapons and have the upper hand at all times. It will probably take some time to get the chemistry and flow in place, the pace was a bit off at times, but I thought we were pretty focused for most of the game. “