5 things: Raptors find new ways to disappoint with another late collapse

Here are five takeaways from the Toronto Raptors' 128-126 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday.

1. The Raptors are finding new ways to lose and disappoint as the season continues to spiral. This time, the Raptors led for over 40 minutes, before going cold at the very end and allowing the Timberwolves to win on a cheap rip-through foul by Fred VanVleet. As if that wasn't painful enough, the Raptors also made sure to throw in two wide-open bricks from three -- one from each corner from O.G. Anunoby -- to rub salt in the wound. Putting aside the late mistakes, the Raptors have only themselves to blame. Minnesota was on the second night of a back-to-back having just lost narrowing in Denver, played with neither one of their max contract centres and a handful of rotation pieces, their main star Anthony Edwards was questionable to play and didn't find his groove until the fourth quarter, and still the Raptors allowed 128 points.

2. The surest sign of a team that doesn't play together is how it defends. Blame it on fatigue, blame it on discord, blame it on the schedule -- the bottom line is that the Raptors have lost their identity as a defense-first team. This is the 10th time in their last 19 games where Toronto conceded 119 points or more. Last season, the Raptors ranked top-five on defense from January onward, which turned the season around and propelled them to a strong finish with 48 wins and the fifth seed. It's a mystery how the exact same team, with the same eight-man rotation, could be so consistently awful a year later. Toronto struggled so much on defense in this loss that coach Nick Nurse resorted to playing zone for more than half the game, and not just because it was tactically prudent, but simply just to get players in their spots and to have them communicate with each other. And yet the Timberwolves just got whatever they wanted each time down, which is why the Raptors led by only eight despite racking up 109 points through three quarters. When the inevitable drought hit, the Raptors capitulated.

3. Pascal Siakam seems to be wearing down. It's no longer a given that he will dominate in the same way as he did to start the season. This was a prime matchup for Siakam against a Timberwolves side that had nobody to check him individually, and no rim protector to keep him from the basket, yet he struggled to score, especially down the stretch. The officials allowed Minnesota's defenders to manhandle Siakam, but he's too good to be shut down. Over his last four games, Siakam is fourth in team scoring on 17.8 points per game, and is shooting a frigid 1-for-15 on threes and 18-for-27 from the line. On the other end, Siakam's defense has become error prone with occasional flashes of brilliance. He is clearly still trying to drive the team forward and there is no lack of intent, but the overall picture is one of an exhausted figure. Siakam's ebullience to begin the season masked other underlying issues with the roster, but perhaps that took too much out of him, and with him coming back down to earth, the bottom has fallen out.

4. The silver lining is that Scottie Barnes and VanVleet have finally found their footing. Barnes scored a season-high 29 points and at one point was 10-for-11 from the field after nailing a buzzer-beating three in the fourth quarter. He started off as a finisher on the pick-and-roll, but grew into his confidence as the game went on and repeatedly got downhill for dunks as he pivoted into initiating the offense. Defensively, it's a concern that Barnes sustained a few hits defending the rim, which left him holding his face on a handful of occasions. As for VanVleet, his catch-and-shoot threes are finally starting to drop, which was his biggest issue to start the season. VanVleet has also found a nice groove playing in pick-and-roll, with Barnes and Precious Achiuwa as his partners in the two-man game. VanVleet had 18 points at halftime on 5-of-6 shooting and finished with 25 points and 10 assists. If Siakam were to rediscover his form to start the year, the Raptors would finally have three functioning offensive creators to sustain the offense, which has been effective of late. Nurse keeps getting strong results from plays where VanVleet, Barnes and Siakam are playing off each other, and that should be the emphasis from start to finish rather than wasting possessions where Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr., or an unreliable bench player freestyles.

5. It's hard to get a grasp on Nurse's approach toward the bench. Two weeks ago, he leaned hard into a 10-man rotation with lineups that involved four reserves at once. It was funky and it succeeded against bad opposition, but it was producing results. But in the last three games, the rotation has tightened once more and stretches no more than eight. Nurse brought Joe Wieskamp, who is on a second 10-day deal, into the mix for strong results as Wieskamp nailed three triples and showed good activity on defense at the top of the zone, but it came at the expense of Chris Boucher, who didn't see a single minute after also being benched for the second half in Milwaukee. Achiuwa has been strong since his return and should see more time as his energy and physicality on defense clearly stands out, but he too can wear on your patience with his decision-making at times. Juancho Hernangomez keeps getting run even though he is a net neutral at best, while Thad Young saw a rare stint at centre, which is an open invitation for the opposing team to attack since an undersized 34-year-old isn't deterring anyone.