Five things: Raptors show improvements, but still lose heartbreaker

Here are five takeaways from the Toronto Raptors' 120-118 loss to the Boston Celtics.

1. The Raptors overcame a 20-point deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter, only to still lose in the last minute due to defensive lapses and missed free throws. It was a valiant effort that saw Darko Rajakovic push his team into overdrive, with Pascal Siakam logging 41 minutes — the first time the coach has played anyone over 40 minutes in regulation. After instantly falling into a deficit, Rajakovic shuffled through 11 rotation players and a smattering of defensive coverages from blitzing, zoning. Eventually, he settled on switching with a small-ball lineup, a move that finally got the Raptors back into the game.

An ill-advised gamble from OG Anunoby allowed Jaylen Brown to get downhill to serve Celtics second-stringer-turned-starter Luke Kornet for a lob to take the lead, followed by a missed free throw by Dennis Schroder to force a tie, and an outstretched layup from Scottie Barnes that rolled just short. They made a mess of it to start, but at least there was a full-hearted attempt at trying to make up for it.

2. The Scottie at point guard adjustment continues to yield positive results. Although the starting five with Gary Trent Jr. for Schroder has yet to actually win their minutes, the net effect has seen Barnes dictate play. To begin the game, Barnes set up Jakob Poeltl for two point-blank layups (somehow both missed, but great looks nonetheless), a lob to Anunoby, and a turnaround post jumper. As the game went on, it could be argued that Barnes had a chance at playing every position — his career-high seven threes made him the most effective shooting guard on the team, and by the fourth quarter, he was feasting as a small-ball centre nailing jump hooks and drawing two in the post to set up cutters for assists.

Barnes' confidence in his own scoring has soared with his newfound ability to nail threes, and if it wasn't obvious enough with the tactical changes, he is officially the top option as Rajakovic drew up a clear-out for Barnes at the end of the game to attack as he saw fit. This is what's best for the team both in the short and long run.

3. The next adjustment should be for the Raptors to feature Barnes and Siakam above all else. Part of the reason for their slow starts is that the Raptors always want to ease into games, spread the ball around to see if Poeltl can throw a high-low feed, or if Trent Jr. or Anunoby can successfully curl open for a jumper, and more times than not it results in static offence that ignites transition chances for the opponent. At that point, the second unit comes in while Barnes sits, which drops the level even further, and then they are left to play catch up. The remedy is invariably for the Raptors to feature Barnes and Siakam, ideally against mismatches, where they can either score in single coverage or draw double teams and play make.

So why can't they just skip the part where everyone gets a turn, and just fast forward to what works? An example: There was a play to end the first quarter where Siakam had a mismatch against Peyton Pritchard in the post. His hands were up, calling for the ball, but instead Schroder hoisted a three that missed, which launched Brown the other way for an and-one. Skip to the fourth quarter, and twice Schroder had mismatches that he could have attacked. Instead, he elected to dump it to Barnes who backed down to draw two which opened a cutting teammate for an and-one, then scored a jump hook on the next try. Just do that from the start. Everyone else can feed off of the main players.

4. Rajakovic has come under fire for a lack of adjustments, but he is finally responding. The move to bench his top confidant in Schroder has come without any fuss, as Schroder is responding with strong play for the second unit while Barnes is flourishing as top dog. But Rajakovic is also shuffling the bottom of the order, which has seen Otto Porter Jr. and Jalen McDaniels get their turn. In all fairness, to borrow a line from Rajakovic himself, it's not as if he's got Steph Curry on the bench, but the job of the coach is to make the best out of what he is given.

Rajakovic started with Poeltl at centre, but the Celtics chased him off the floor through pick-and-rolls, and Chris Boucher didn't fare any better at backup. Precious Achiuwa — who has been demoted to third-string — got two minutes and used it to instantly call his own isolation play so he was immediately yanked. Rajakovic finally settled on the unexpected, and probably the unplanned: The 205-pound McDaniels played the fourth quarter as a small-ball five, and at least for tonight it worked. McDaniels drained two threes and cut in for a pair of and-ones for 13 points to punish the Celtics for having Kornet ignore his man in favour of crowding the paint. Defensively, McDaniels gave the Raptors a chance to switch pick-and-rolls, which briefly kept the Celtics from getting downhill until the dam broke in the last few minutes. Still, it was a creative move by Rajakovic who is at least trying new things of late.

5. In the grand scheme of things, the Raptors are still clearly lacking. The performances of Barnes and Siakam were great, the adjustments by Rajakovic were creative, and the team showed heart in climbing back, but it all just shows once again that the roster is badly lacking. This was a Celtics team on the second night of a back-to-back, that had rested three key rotation players in Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford, and they still looked more composed down the stretch. The difference came down to this: Boston used roughly the same assets to grab Derrick White from San Antonio while Toronto paid through the nose for Poeltl (who once again didn't close the game while White clinched it).

Meanwhile, the Celtics got an incredible performance from Kornet, who they signed at the minimum in free agency, developed him in the G-League, steadily introduced him to the rotation, and Kornet ended up scoring 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting including the go-ahead dunk. Kornet isn't exactly a world-beater, but why can't the Raptors' scouting and development system generate serviceable rotation players anymore?