Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors‘ 97-94 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
1. Get used to reading this: The Raptors won by playing shutdown defence. Toronto limited Minnesota to 94 points on 34 per cent shooting, despite allowing 100 field-goal attempts by the Timberwolves, as the Raptors shut down everything other than the offensive glass. The starting five was excellent, as Jakob Poeltl offered a like-sized deterrent against Minnesota’s dual seven-footer lineup. But Toronto was just as stingy on defense in its smallball group to close the game, where their unique ability to switch across four positions kept the Timberwolves to nothing more than long jumpers and the occasional putback. It would be a disappointment if the Raptors finished any lower than top 10 in defensive efficiency, given their personnel.
2. Anthony Edwards was nowhere to be found after rattling off 12 points in a four-minute span to open the game. The breakout star from this summer’s Team USA squad shot a ghastly 8-for-27 from the field on the night as the Raptors effectively shut down one of the best scorers in the league, thanks in most part to OG Anunoby’s efforts. Anunoby admitted after the game that he was too loose on Edwards to start, as Anunoby was caught on a pair of screens by Rudy Gobert that freed Edwards for two pull-up threes, but Anunoby quickly adjusted and was on Edwards’ hip the rest of the way. Anunoby is one of the rare players who can match Edwards for quickness and strength, while having the advantage in wingspan to force Edwards into changing his shot or shooting at an angle to get free. That advantage, coupled with great help defence from his teammates, coaxed Edwards into attempting 18 non-rim two-point attempts. Or put it another way: Edwards settled for 11 midrange pull-ups — the least-efficient shot in the game — as compared to seven total for the Raptors as a team.
3. The Raptors also shut down Minnesota’s secondary option in Karl-Anthony Towns, who shot 8-for-25, including 2-of-10 from three. It helped that Towns was misfiring from three, as the Raptors were often late to rotate, but the Raptors also didn’t overreact and were often content with a strong closeout from one of their rangy wings to force Towns into shooting contested looks. When he did put in on the floor, the Raptors were diligent in stacking the lane so that Towns couldn’t get all the way to the basket, which led to the seven-footer settling for a smattering of awkward push floaters and runner that he didn’t quite have the touch to complete. Scottie Barnes and Precious Achiuwa deserve the most credit for their efforts against Towns, who mostly scored off broken plays and the occasional post-up in single coverage.
4. Barnes and Dennis Schroder combined for the play of the night in the fourth quarter. After a dubious no-call on what could have been a goaltending call on Rudy Gobert against Pascal Siakam, the Timberwolves were able break down three points with five minutes left. Barnes astutely measured his rotation to back up Gary Trent Jr., who was defending the drive, and was able to record his fifth block, which was surely headed out of bounds, except that Schroder dove out on the sideline while wrapping the ball back inbounds for the save, which caught a friendly rebound off the glass. On the ensuring possession, Schroder worked a pick-and-pop with Siakam for a three to push the lead to six points to force Minnesota into a timeout.
5. Toronto’s overall energy in transition made up for its shortcomings in halfcourt scoring. The Raptors scored 34 fast-break points despite missing a few chances in transition with poor spacing or missed threes. Similar to previous seasons, the Raptors have a clear advantage in the open court with their long wings, many of whom are guarding the top of the floor when the play turns over, which leads to easy runouts or post mismatches. More importantly, the Raptors have the athletes with enough motor to race all game. Having a 10-man rotation will eventually help with that, but it was a credit to the starters — Barnes in particular — for pushing the break whenever possible.
6. It was an awkward night for Siakam, who had his first game in a full calendar year with more threes than two-pointers made, to finish with 5-of-17 shooting. It was a difficult matchup as Minnesota consistently had at least one seven-footer parked in the lane at all times, but Siakam also made it difficult for himself by constantly trying to run off one-foot instead of going strong to the rim or stopping short on two feet for short pull-ups to evade the shot blocker. The positive is that he recognized the need for his three-point shooting to open up the defence, and he largely stayed away from the midrange shots that defined last few seasons. On the whole, Siakam’s playmaking was sensible and he was very willing to make the next pass instead of stopping the offence. His inefficiency Wednesday night was temporary.
7. Without Siakam’s scoring, the bulk of halfcourt scoring came down to Schroder. The German lead guard had a quiet pre-season, but Schroder had clearly shown his ability in winning the FIBA World Cup and tournament MVP honours, and this was a repeat of what he did with the national team. Schroder didn’t force his shot too often, opting instead to try to organize the offence whenever possible while also expending much of his energy by picking up full-court on defence. But as it became abundantly clear that Minnesota had cut off the paint against Barnes and Siakam, the onus fell on Schroder to deliver the much-needed perimeter scoring. Schroder knocking down four catch-and-shoot threes is a great sign, but the more reliable aspect of his game is his ability to bolt to the basket on two dribbles or fewer. In the third quarter, Schroder had back-to-back drives where he burst past Mike Conley from a standstill position to get inside for layups.
8. Another promising sign was Anunoby’s willingness to launch from three. He is the strongest and the only reliable three-point shooter for the starting five, so he has the ultimate green light to fire, but that has never really been his nature in the past. Not only is Anunoby sometimes shy, but he would have a tendency to dribble inside the line into less-efficient looks in the midrange. But when teams go under against him, the team needs him to pull from deep rather than to try to use the screen to probe the paint.
9. The Raptors properly celebrated Darko Rajakovic’s first win as an NBA head coach. Assistant coach Jama Mahalela made sure to scoop the game ball, and presented it to Rajakovic after he was drenched in water by his players, who eagerly cheered the occasion. Despite the milestone, Rajakovic stayed on message by reminding the team that it stayed together, and that it can keep growing. That is his entire motto for the season.
10. Rajakovic’s rotation patterns proved interesting. He technically ran a 10-man rotation, but rookie Gradey Dick hardly made a splash in his two minutes. The surprise call was leaving Chris Boucher out of the mix, as Rajakovic opted for Jalen McDaniels in his place, but the choice there might be that McDaniels is a bit better defensively, while Boucher offers more with his cutting and occasional threes on offence. Malachi Flynn did get his chance to run the backup point, but picked up four fouls in limited time and was unable to capitalize. Jakob Poeltl didn’t finish the game, but he played well in his 24 minutes and it was a credit to Precious Achiuwa’s efforts in matching his level off the bench.