Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors' 111-110 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
One: The Raptors lost a hard-fought and intense game that had the feel of a playoff matchup. The Mavericks had the best player and executed consistently on both ends, which earned them a 19-point advantage by the third quarter, but the Raptors refused to quit and pushed them until the very last possession. Despite the loss, it was a useful test to show where the Raptors are lacking, and what they can improve upon.
Two: Toronto played its best basketball in the fourth quarter. Dallas grew comfortable in their lead, while Scottie Barnes, Precious Achiuwa, and Chris Boucher made a hard push, and ultimately had the game down to a single possession twice in the fourth. Having conceded 96 points through three quarters, the Raptors finally figured out their rotations, and played with more physicality than their opponent, which culminated in a brilliant stretch where Dallas was forced into three straight turnovers. The Mavericks made just enough plays to hold off the comeback, while the Raptors made a few errors down the stretch that proved costly.
Three: Barnes' performance mirrored that of the Raptors. He was completely invisible for the first three quarters, including a dreadful first-half showing where he didn't once drive the ball into the paint to create the advantage. Barnes did appear to sprain his ankle early on and briefly checked out for two possessions, but that's hardly an excuse when he played 38 minutes.
This pattern also played out last season, where he would sit in the background for the first half, before turning it on late, but the Raptors needed him to be aggressive all night with Fred VanVleet missing his third game with a back issue. To his credit, Barnes was the best player on the floor in the fourth, scoring eight points and six assists to complete an improbable triple-double as he took it strong to the paint repeatedly while slinging a handful of slick dimes to his teammates.
Four: Pascal Siakam exited the game with a groin injury after slipping on a wet spot. Siakam was the main generator on offence for the Raptors, and was creating problems for the Mavericks in the paint, but his teammates didn't capitalize on enough of his kickout passes to establish an early lead.
Siakam could have looked to be a bit more selfish with his own scoring, but credit to the Mavericks' interior defenders for being physical and for bringing a crowd. If Siakam misses extended time, the Raptors will really need VanVleet to recover, and for Barnes to take more initiative on offense for all four quarters.
Five: The important lesson for Nick Nurse in this game is that one of Barnes or Siakam needs to be on the court at all times. He opened the second quarter with a lineup of Gary Trent Jr., Dalano Banton, Otto Porter Jr., Achiuwa, and Christian Koloko to start the second and he was forced to burn a timeout three minutes in as the Mavericks outscored them 8-2.
The Raptors simply didn't have enough play creation with that group, as Koloko stepped out for a three, while Banton air-balled a floater and then tried to force a pass to Koloko in heavy traffic that led to a breakaway dunk. Nurse corrected his mistake in the fourth but there needs to be at least one of Barnes, Siakam, or VanVleet on the floor at all times to ensure that the Raptors can at least get into their offense.
Six: The Raptors had no answer for Luka Doncic. Nurse threw the book at him, toggling between a half-dozen defensive coverages, and Doncic just kept making highlight plays. Doncic hunted the rookie Koloko early on, knocked down a pair of stepback threes, then got into the paint repeatedly for layups or kick outs for three.
In the few instances where the Raptors successfully pressured him into late-clock scenarios, Doncic would improvise using tidy footwork to generate a sliver of daylight against Toronto's best wing defenders for rainbow jumpers that sent the crowd into ecstasy. Nurse settled on sending hard traps at Doncic in the fourth, opting instead for his team to guard 4-on-3 behind the ball and it worked just enough to allow for the comeback. No star has beaten the Raptors so consistently as Doncic, including in his rookie year where he scored 35 points while being covered by Kawhi Leonard.
Seven: Toronto's half-court execution still needs to improve. Dallas is a disciplined team who made a point to get back in transition first and foremost. The Raptors went from scoring 84 fast break points in their last two wins, to only managing five against the Mavericks.
Without their main weapon, the Raptors had to be more methodical in their approach, and that's when cracks began to show. Siakam was good whenever it was on him to create, but everyone else had issues. Barnes came on too late, Anunoby was too clumsy and loose with the ball for five turnovers, Trent Jr. was misfiring all game, while Achiuwa and Banton were erratic. It was a stark contrast to the other end, where Doncic got his team an advantage every trip down.
Eight: Achiuwa should be studying Boucher's game. Boucher used to make the same mistakes of overeagerness as Achiuwa earlier on, but has settled into his role to become an efficient player that plays both ends of the floor. Achiuwa has the same abilities, and was productive in his own right in this game, but compromised his showing with some unforced errors.
His worst infraction was a 1-on-3 push in transition with the shot clock turned off, where instead of holding for the last shot, Achiuwa dribbled into a crowd in an effort to force the play, and conceded a turnover that got the Mavericks a dunk. The sooner that Achiuwa can read the game like Boucher, the better the Raptors' second unit will be.
Nine: Koloko is already an impactful player but he needs to cut down on fouls. He committed three in the first half and finished the game with four in 12 minutes and didn't see time in the fourth. His assignment is to contest every shot and to play with energy, but his efforts tonight were simply misguided.
His first foul was because he got caught ball-watching in no man's land as Doncic found Dwight Powell cutting backdoor for a layup, his second was a reach on Doncic as he tried to drive, the third was a push in the back after being sealed in the post by a veteran in JaVale McGee, and the last one was an elbow trying to hold off Powell on a simple hand-off. Two of those plays can be attributed to his lack of strength, while the other two are just mistakes defensively.
Ten: Anunoby was excellent in his role. He collected five steals for the third-straight game, and admirably tried to step up as a secondary scorer until Barnes woke up in the fourth. Still, the Raptors are short one more playmaker as both Anunoby and Trent Jr. are best served as play-finishers.
A fourth playmaker to pair with VanVleet, Barnes, and Siakam would solve so many issues for them in the halfcourt, and the answer doesn't exist on the roster despite having three point guards on the bench. Dallas used to have a similar problem until Spencer Dinwiddie arrived last season, and he's the type of tall slasher that would fit nicely into this team.
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