10 things: Raptors pummelled by 76ers' Embiid, Drummond

Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors‘ 125-113 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

One — This won’t be the first time the Raptors get exploited by centers. The Sixers’ beefy combo of Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond will be a load for most teams, but they become especially tricky for teams like the Raptors who are purposely constructed without a true center. Embiid finished with a modest stat line of 10 points in 20 minutes, yet he dictated how the entire game was played. Offensively, the Raptors struggled to get anything in the paint with Embiid guarding the rim, while on defence, the Raptors were forced to send extra bodies on every trip down so that Embiid wouldn’t steamroll Precious Achiuwa, which left shooters open all over the floor. Philadelphia capitalized by hitting 18 threes and that was the game in a nutshell.

Two — Some of this will fix itself. First off, most teams don’t have even one player as physically imposing as either Embiid or Drummond. Second, the Raptors happened to be especially shorthanded since four frontcourt players (Pascal Siakam, Khem Birch, Chris Boucher and Yuta Watanabe) were sidelined. Defensively, none of them are imposing stoppers in the post, but at least on offence, the likes of Siakam and Boucher can pull the opposing center out of the paint with their perimeter game, which then opens up other ways to even the score. Achiuwa could have theoretically been an option in this game, but the Raptors didn’t run a single pick-and-pop for him to stretch the Sixers out.

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Three — But it’s also an obvious weakness in roster construction. The Raptors have pushed all-in on their strategy of positionless basketball, with 15 of their 20 players standing between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-10, and their goal is to overwhelm teams with switching, zone coverages, and generally blanketing teams under a weave of limbs.

But when it comes down to it, a seven-foot center weighing 300 pounds catching it on the block against a six-foot-nine forward at 200 pounds is always going to be difficult, and it would be nice if the Raptors had even one exception — a Marc Gasol for example, and Freddie Gillespie is not it — who can specialize in taking on the bigger opponents. Because without that player to rely on, the Raptors have to overcompensate by making risky double teams, which then forces them into rotations to cover for one another, and any let-up in intensity or being a half-step out creates an open shot for the opponent.

Four — OG Anunoby wants to make the jump from role player to featured scorer. It’s an ambitious one given his track record to date, but he’s clearly put in the work. In the first two pre-season games, Anunoby is demanding the ball with the intent to attack 1-on-1, and it’s working. His three-point shot is as sharp as ever, the midrange shot is an option in his back pocket, and he has two counters when he drives between the spin move to the rim and the fadeaway jumper.

His efficiency is sustaining so far, with Anunoby providing 21 points on 12 shots, then 22 points on 14 attempts in the first two games. It wouldn’t be entirely surprising if Anunoby made a jump similar to what Siakam did in the championship season, where Siakam provided steady and efficient finishing within the offence, while markedly expanding his individual scoring skillset.

Five — Beyond his scoring, the passing was also impressive. Anunoby finished with four assists, which is a modest figure, but all four were excellent passes while being the focal point of the offence.

His first find was a dump off to Scottie Barnes, who flashed from the corner to give Anunoby an option on his drive. The second was a bullet pass to Achiuwa who was open for just an instant as Embiid aligned himself in anticipation of Anunoby’s attack. The third was a clever shovel pass inside to a timely cut from Justin Champagnie, and the final setup was to Svi Mykhailiuk who snuck behind the defence. Anunoby was making such an impact on offence that the Sixers started tilting his way, even showing double teams at times, and Anunoby showed the right amount of patience. Being a featured player means more than just simply scoring, and having the playmaking chops is often just as important.

Six — Anunoby and Fred VanVleet are clearly sharper than the rest of the group. That’s about what you would expect since they are the two most experienced players in terms of time with the Raptors. VanVleet showed variety in his scoring, mixing in a midrange jumper, a baseline fadeaway, a spinning left-handed layup off the glass, and three triples for his 17 points. Based on the first two games, it seems like VanVleet and Anunoby will dictate most half-court possessions for the starting lineup, at least until Siakam recovers. Even with VanVleet and Anunoby continuing to grow, that still leaves the Raptors light on playmaking, which can’t really be helped.

Seven — One way to improve playmaking would be to run more plays from the post. Anunoby was able to pick out some nice passes, while Barnes was also successful from the elbows in the first pre-season game. With the starting lineup, ball-handling is at a premium, and it would both lighten the load on how much VanVleet needs to run the show, while also getting him catch-and-shoot opportunities.

With the Raptors also running so many six-foot-nine forwards out there at once, there are bound to be mismatches against opposing guards where the Raptors can feed cutters moving through the lane. It will be an ongoing process all season to find ways to make the offence viable, since the individual shot creation on this team is lacking.

Eight — The Raptors should explore flipping their shooting guards. Goran Dragic has started both games thus far, while Gary Trent Jr. came off the bench in his return from a minor injury, and it makes sense for the roles to be switched. Trent Jr. is a shooter who becomes more efficient and effective alongside playmakers who can set him up, but in his current spot off the bench, he is left to fend for himself which almost always results in a pull-up jumper from the midrange. Dragic is better suited for the second unit, where he can have the ball in his hands more often, and where he can create for himself and others. At the moment, neither player is being maximized.

Nine — Champagnie and Mykhailiuk are making their cases for more minutes. Mykhailiuk is a shooter who also knows how to make opportunistic cuts behind the defence, while also having a bit of playmaking and ball-handling to offer, and has looked very comfortable with the second unit. Champagnie is another smart cutter who mostly waits for kick outs for three, or dump-off passes at the edge of the paint where he punches above his weight with how efficiently he finishes plays.

Nick Nurse has said repeatedly in training camp that he wants 13 players that he is comfortable with playing in his rotation to cover for all the expected absences between injuries and the pandemic. If the season were to start tomorrow, both Champagnie and Mykhailiuk would be in the rotation.

Ten — It’s odd that Malachi Flynn remains in the background. He showed promise last year winning Rookie of the Month in April, was clearly their best player in Summer League, and has noticeably sharpened his jumper which resulted in him hitting three triples, yet his usage thus far suggests that Flynn is headed for another season of waiting on the bench.

Flynn didn’t play the entire first half in the first pre-season game, sat out the first quarter of the second one and has exclusively run with the second and third stringers. To be fair, Flynn’s defence was much less pesky than usual as Tyrese Maxey burned him on a handful of plays, and Flynn failed to record an assist in 18 minutes, but he should be one of the prospects the Raptors are looking to develop and feature, and so far he’s been an afterthought. What’s keeping him out of a bigger role?

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