5 Things: Raptors no-show in letdown loss to Sixers

Here are five takeaways from the Toronto Raptors' 112-90 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.

One: The Raptors completely tanked a game in which Joel Embiid sat out. Outside of Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby, it was a disastrous performance by the entire team who were run out of their own gym. The defensive effort was lacking from start to finish, save for a half-hearted push in the third quarter that was quickly stamped out once the second unit returned.

But the Raptors also compounded their own mistakes with a needlessly aggressive defensive scheme of hard-trapping James Harden at the expense of open threes and gaping driving lanes for the Sixers' supporting cast. Sure, Harden was limited to 11 points and five turnovers, but the Raptors lacked both the hustle and the cohesiveness to guard 4-on-3. Tyrese Maxey started off the first quarter knocking in four threes and rode that wave of confidence into a stunning 44-point career night.

In keeping with the theme of the night, the Raptors somehow lost Maxey in rotation as he flared free for his ninth triple of the night. For a team that stakes its reputation on defense, how does that happen?

Two: Fred VanVleet was so bad in this game that Nick Nurse kept asking him if he was alright. VanVleet insisted that he was, but his play showed he clearly wasn't. It's not just that he missed some makeable shots, but he was just out of character and out of breath all night. VanVleet continues to be burned by the Maxey assignment, as this is the third time where he's allowed 30 or more, and the Sixers were actively hunting VanVleet on switches.

At the other end of the court, VanVleet forced two pull-up threes during their third quarter push that came nowhere close to falling, despite him never having a rhythm at any point. Ultimately, it was a mistake by Nurse to play VanVleet for 34 minutes when he couldn't even create a basket off a 2-on-1 fast break, nor manage to shake Georges "The Minivan" Niang in isolation. This performance was so out of character that something must be up.

Three: Scottie Barnes and Precious Achiuwa were complete no-shows. Barnes knocked in a few open jumpers, but the standard is too high for him to provide so little.

He only took seven shots and never once took it into the paint on a night when the Sixers started five players who were all smaller than him, and without a center to challenge him at the rim. The one time he tried to attack, Barnes settled for a contested pull-up with 13 seconds on the clock.

Achiuwa was even worse, as he missed all of his shots while also not being a factor on the glass or on defense. Achiuwa even allowed the slow-footed Niang to drive it all the way for a layup against him, which must have been the final straw as Nurse ended his night at 15 minutes.

Youth and inexperience are not adequate excuses for absences from two key rotation players. So far on the season, the hype has exceeded their play on the court.

Four: The book is out on the Raptors' second unit and it's simply to play zone. This is now the fourth straight game the Raptors have encountered zone coverage, and it was also a recurring theme last year. The Sixers had success with it in their loss on Wednesday, and without Embiid to patrol the middle, Doc Rivers smartly leaned on zone coverage for nearly half the game.

Putting aside shot-making, which can come and go, the Raptors had two issues with the zone. First, they really struggle to feed the ball into the middle, often needing a few ball reversals to shift the defense before even creating the gap to feed the cutter. The second problem is that they just didn't run hard enough this game. The best way to beat the zone is to play in the fast break before they can even set up, but the Raptors were simply too lethargic.

It's curious why Nurse wouldn't use veteran forward Thad Young instead of ineffective options like Christian Koloko and Dalano Banton who lack both the shooting and the experience to break down zones. Young knows where to position himself, is a smart passer, and can knock down the occasional corner three.

Five: You have to admire Anunoby for giving maximum effort on a night where his teammates were completely out of sorts. Anunoby did everything he could on defense, contesting more shots than anyone while also being the primary defender on Harden, and he had as many deflections (5) as the rest of the team combined.

Anunoby blocked Tobias Harris at the basket to stop a 3-on-1 fast break, then topped himself by racing back to pick off another 3-on-1 fast break before hustling back up the floor for the trailing and-one layup going the other way.

Anunoby has also settled down on his drives in recent games, opting for a more varied approach in getting to the basket, including a calm turnaround jumper over Harden in the paint.

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