10 things: Raptors exterminate Hornets with barrage of late threes

Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors' 132-120 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.

1. The Raptors were content to trade baskets with the Hornets for three quarters before turning it on at the end to pull away. In truth, it was a dangerous game to play since the Raptors have been burnt in these type of open games where they are reliant on their offence -- loses to Sacramento, Atlanta, and two against Indiana come to mind -- but the Hornets are genuinely one of the worst teams in the league. The Raptors once again played a 10-man rotation, as Nick Nurse rewarded a bench group that overcame a poor start to the second quarter before settling in for two productive shifts that expanded the lead, which allowed Toronto's starters to finish strong at the end.

2. Toronto hit a season-high 20 threes, including six in the fourth to sustain the win. The Hornets had no wing defenders to contain penetration, which allowed the Raptors to feast off drive-and-kick chances all night. The ball movement was strong throughout as the Raptors' three main creators each had seven or more assists, and for once this season they converted on open looks. The Raptors were also able to attack the offensive glass for 18 rebounds, which set up second-chance threes as the defence was scrambling to find their assignments. O.G. Anunoby and Fred VanVleet nailed four straight catch-and-shoot threes in the fourth to firmly pull away from Charlotte.

3. Pascal Siakam once again led the way as he flirted with a triple-double. Siakam set the tone early, scoring 14 points in the opening frame on 6-of-7 shooting against a Hornets side that had no answers for him. Charlotte's best wing defender is Jaden McDaniels, who struggled with foul trouble as Siakam cleverly set him up with crossovers and change of pace drives that consistently had the Hornet off balance. Past that, the Hornets lacked physicality and shot blocking at the rim, and so their only recourse was to double Siakam, who then made the unselfish play to set up teammates. Siakam carried the offence to finish the first and third quarters, and wasn't as needed in the fourth aside from assisting on open threes and the occasional leakout layup.

4. Gary Trent Jr. continues to be in a groove. Trent Jr. has always been able to serve as a finisher with the starters, but he's also finding success as the go-to option with the reserves. Nurse has been pulling Trent Jr. early in the first and third quarters so that he can lead the second unit to begin the second and fourth quarters, and that's where Trent Jr.'s scoring talents have been most effective. He is curling off screens and given a chance to attack the defence, and Trent Jr. has consistently made plays either with the jumper, or drawing fouls on his herky-jerky floating drives that have been hard for defenders to predict. Trent Jr. is also on a run of drawing three-point fouls by slyly leaving his leg or elbow out against desperate closeouts, which is further buffing his efficiency.

5. The second unit is starting to find an identity around winning possessions and protecting the basket. For a second straight game, Nurse turned to Precious Achiuwa, Christian Koloko, and Chris Boucher together to serve as the backbone of his second unit, and it worked. Similar to last year, where it was the energy of Boucher and Achiuwa that carried the reserves, the Raptors were able to win the possession game while also keeping the Hornets out of the paint with a zone defence that lines up Toronto's three best shot blockers on the baseline. Koloko's introduction to the group only further accentuates the strengths of last season, although it does further cramp the spacing. The reserves were good enough once again to expand the lead in their six-minute stints, which allowed the starters to be fresh at the end.

6. Offensively, the second unit needs a clear structure. Trent Jr. should always be the first option in the halfcourt, whether the play is to find him curling downhill, or as the ball handler breaking down the defence. Malachi Flynn can be the primary ball handler, but he needs to rediscover his stroke from three, which has totally abandoned him in the last two weeks where he is shooting an unthinkable 4-for-29 from the field. Past that, it gets truly dicey as nobody wants to see early clock pick-and-pop threes for Boucher or for Achiuwa to clatter his way through a pick-and-roll before forcing up a contested shot over three defenders. The biggest concern with the second unit is for the disorganization on offence to bleed over into poor transition defence.

7. Achiuwa's return to form would be a huge boost for the second unit. He makes mistakes that are loud and at times comical, but they always spring from an excess of effort. Achiuwa does not play afraid as he's exploding into the play on both ends, and as it was last season, the goal for the Raptors should be to channel his boundless energy in a positive way. Given that there are three bigs in at once, Achiuwa is pressed into playing small forward, which does mean more perimeter play. That isn't specialty as of yet, but you can see the potential. The ability to catch-and-shoot for three opens up the rest of his game, where he can then attack a closeout with force. Nurse could have easily pulled Achiuwa after his early mistakes, but was rewarded with his patience.

8. The game can be so easy for Anunoby when he resides in his role. Anunoby knocked in six threes, all of which were assisted and open, which accounted for the bulk of his 22 points. He is also capable of getting to his own shot, but it remains so that his efficiency tails off when he takes that approach. Anunoby's four missed shots were a pull-up three, a pull-up midrange jumper, a post-up where he spun into two guys, and another drive in traffic where he was blocked. His game overall was efficient, but the difference was stark between how easily he got his points when he played within the flow, as compared to how clunky it was when he tried to force the flow himself.

9. This was a simple game for VanVleet, who had lots of options to pass to instead of trying to force his own offence. VanVleet dished out eight assists, which included four setups to three-point shooters and three dimes to cutters at the basket for open layups. His shot wasn't falling in the first three quarters, but when it came time to take control, VanVleet knocked in two threes in the fourth just like in the Portland game on Sunday. The Raptors have lightened his workload, with wings guarding the opposing point guard more often, as in the case here with Anunoby checking LaMelo Ball. Nurse is biting the bullet with Flynn getting guaranteed run regardless of the result, which is giving VanVleet more time to rest.

10. The Raptors should look to switch more liberally in the rematch on Thursday. You wouldn't know it from this game, but the Hornets were the worst-ranked offence in the league and yet Toronto conceded 120 points on 55 per cent shooting. The main issue was that Ball was too clever for Toronto's traps and blitzes, as he made the quick pass out and on time to set up shooters. Otherwise, Ball was getting downhill at will to spin his magic. Switching will allow the Raptors to keep Ball out of the paint, and while there might be mismatches down low, the Hornets don't really have a lethal big who can reliably score even with an advantage. Even Mason Plumlee, who lived in the paint for 9-of-10 shooting, did so largely attacking on the move after Ball drew two defenders.