5 things: Raptors' defence goes missing in blowout loss to Thunder

Here are five takeaways from the Toronto Raptors' 132-113 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.

One -- This was a complete letdown performance by the Raptors from start to finish, and it mostly boiled down to the lack of effort on defence. The Thunder, whose roster resembles that of an undergrad classroom, finished with 70 points in the paint and had eight players score in double digits. Not a single Raptors player could keep their man in front of them, and the rotations in behind either came too late, or were non-existent. This was such an out-of-character performance by a team that identifies and prides itself on defence, and it leads one to question if something is afflicting them behind the scenes. Fred VanVleet left the game early with a non-COVID illness, which might explain the total lack of energy by the team in what should have been a competitive contest.

Two -- It's clearly noticeable when Scottie Barnes is engaged, and when he isn't. Barnes played with fury and purpose to start the second half, as evidenced by him drawing two fouls on the same play to force his way to the line. He finished the quarter with all nine of his points in the paint, set up Otto Porter Jr. for an and-one finish after collapsing the defence, and came up with a rare stop on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander by moving his feet, absorbing the drive, and then poking the ball loose, which nearly sprung a transition chance. Compare that type of effort to what he showed in the first half, where he repeatedly failed to contest layups, rarely looked at the rim, and even when he bit on a ball fake, Barnes still wouldn't make up for his mistake and challenge the shot. There were even a pair of instances where he threw his hands up at his teammates on defensive breakdowns, even though he was hardly perfect. The focus needs to be there for the entire game, not just for spurts. Even though he's young and most likely banged up, the Raptors need Barnes to be a leader and take on the challenge of filling Pascal Siakam's absence.

Three -- VanVleet and O.G. Anunoby weren't good enough to carry the team. In truth, they aren't on that level where dominance should be expected, but they had both been strong this week with Siakam out. Both players forced their shots Friday, which is understandable to some degree since it's on them to spark the team, but it only added to their misery. Anunoby was blocked four times at the hoop and showed a lack of court awareness with his predictable approach in the paint, while VanVleet simply lacked the burst to gain separation so he resorted to flipping up shots at acute angles that had little chance of falling. If they don't play well, the Raptors don't have a chance at competing since the bench is consistently delivering duds.

Four -- The backup point guard position continues to be a glaring weakness of the team. Dalano Banton is currently ahead of Malachi Flynn in Nick Nurse's rotation, but neither one can really be relied upon consistently. Banton was disastrous in his first shift as he conceded blow-bys on defence while failing to do even the most basic of point guard duties in bringing the ball past halfcourt. Still, Banton got the nod ahead of Flynn in the second half. For his part, Flynn scored 12 points and knocked down open jumpers, but it's hard to judge his showing since it came in a blowout. The bottom line is that the Raptors' offence falls off a cliff when they turn to the second unit, and it further strains the need for their defence to be overwhelming, which it often isn't.

Five -- Credit to Chris Boucher and Juancho Hernangomez for competing off the bench even though it did little to cut the deficit. Boucher had some lapses defensively, but his effort and activity was noticeably better than any of his teammates as he crashed the glass and rolled hard for layups and free throws. Hernangomez was introduced later on as a substitute for Thad Young, who was strangely benched even though he was contributing, and the Spaniard was professional in his approach with five deflections to lead the team. Hernangomez also knocked down two triples and made a timely cut to the rim. His skillset is certainly useful, but what the second unit really lacks is a creator instead of another finisher. Again, a competent backup point guard would do wonders.