Raptors’ clutch offense withers and dies against Knicks in loss
It took about .5 seconds for Scottie Barnes to make his mark defensively. A brash deny possession against his check, Jalen Brunson, that resulted in an off ball foul. The foul wasn’t a win, but the physicality was. Barnes was aggressive and present every time Brunson was looking for a touch. A unique approach to the defensive side of the floor and no doubt an assignment that Barnes himself wanted badly. Barnes was quick to peel off if he allowed a driving lane to Brunson and used his length in recovery. It was, largely, a successful defensive wrinkle that put the Knicks offense out of sorts to start things off. A unique wrinkle against a top tier team in the league. It was only once Jamal Shead checked in and the assignments changed, that Brunson scored his first bucket of the game.
“I feel awesome about it. I think that’s a great opportunity for us. I think that we as an organization have made significant strides this season and for us the next big step is that.” Coach Darko told me of the Raptors poor record vs. the best teams in the league. “Playing a high level against the best teams in the league. We’ve had games where we were very competitive, some of those games went our way some of them did not, but all of those games are just amazing for us. I’m so excited to play against the best teams in the league because I think there is always learning for us, and there is always that competitive spirit that we want to bring and we want to find a way to win those games.”
On the offensive side the Raptors started out with a good burst of shooting from downtown. Brandon Ingram & RJ Barrett were both eager to get downhill and get the defense in motion, but Jakob Poeltl’s rolling was just as valuable in that regard. They got the ball middle, then got the ball to shooters, and actually hit some shots. Ingram took it to the next level once the transitional bench lineups got started. A bunch of possessions shifted towards him and he made good on a great many of them. Big sweeping crosses, pull-up jumpers, up and unders – he made the Knicks defense look wholly incapable of keeping up with him. The transitional lineup that gave up the lead was one that couldn’t contain Brunson well enough, and one that really struggled to create good looks on offense. The Knicks slowly found their groove offensively and crept into the lead by the end of the first quarter.
The front half of the second quarter was a disaster. Summed up best, maybe, by a sequence where the Raptors got caught on a 5-second violation after a timeout, and immediately gave up a layup off an outlet pass after that. Disorganized and out of it. The Knicks upped their physicality on defense and started stringing together stronger backline help, and it allowed them to get stops and run outs. Not only was their shot making better than the Raptors in the halfcourt, but they were more active in the full court as well. A terrible mix, and one that fuelled the Knicks run to a double-digit lead. The only way the Raptors could muster up to stop the Knicks from gaining ground, however slowly, was to continuously hand the ball off to Ingram who was in the midst of a magical run of shot making and had already vaulted himself up to 26 points – the third highest scoring first half of his career.
While it’s true that the Raptors did a good job of moving a lot of possessions away from Brunson, Josh Hart did a pretty good job of stepping in as a facilitator in the in between, and the rotating cast of shot makers did their thing. It also doesn’t help that the Raptors were hiding defenders on Hart, rather than being able to put a defensive playmaker on him to help disrupt other actions the Knicks wanted to run through.
“Josh Hart is a player who can definitely knock down a shot, but he’s also an elite driver. He’s somebody that does a really good job of getting to the rim, the paint, and the free throw line as well.” Coach Darko said of the common defensive strategy of helping off of Hart. “So, I think he’s a complete player. I don’t think Josh Hart is getting enough recognition in this league for how good a player he is and how much he means to their team.”
Stuck 10 at halftime, kept alive by Ingram, and looking for adjustments to help you steal one against a top team.
The Raptors came out in the third quarter with significant vigor. Still determined to move the ball out of Brunson’s hands, but bringing a similar 1-5 connectedness to the beginning of the game. Offensively, the return of Immanuel Quickley’s jumper (1-6 in the first half) was a huge boon as he knocked down two triples after heavy ball movement. Also of note, Quickley had dished out 9 assists by the 6 minute mark of the third quarter, and while some of that is the result of the simplicity of feeding Ingram off curls and Poeltl off pocket passes, Quickley was displaying a little more resilience in the middle of the floor than usual.
By the end of the third quarter, as the Raptors were looking at a 5-point deficit (87-82) one thing was abundantly clear: the Raptors starters were demolishing their minutes. Running roughshod. It’s been a good bit of time since that unit has been through the clutch time ringer. Could they maintain this dominance through the toughest part of the game? Could their transitional lineups hang in so the starters could finish the job?
I’d like to say the start of the fourth quarter was an exhibit on defense from Barnes, but that would seem to suggest like he wasn’t doing it the rest of the game. It did seem particularly oppressive at the front of the fourth quarter, though. He was taking possessions on primary initiators and still ended up being the stopper on play finishers. He was a suppressant in some sense and an inflammatory in others. Quieting so much of what the Knicks wanted to do, and exploding so much of what the Raptors wanted to do against them.
Similar to games of the past, Coach Darko made what is often an unpopular decision: he tried to steal some fourth quarter minutes without either of Ingram or Barnes on the floor.
Enter: Barrett, who was carrying the Raptors scoring in that stretch. It was a desperately needed burst from the Raptors scoring guard and one that was built off of a significant amount of guile. Inchworm slithers down the lane for layups around masses of bodies, a couple jumpers, just a guy trying to manufacture buckets. Stuck 2 (93-95) and rapidly approaching clutch time.
To this point, it was all about the starters. 5:26 left in the game and the bench had provided 8 points on 13 shots. Ingram & Barnes both entered the game. Winning time, or losing time – as it were.
If the Raptors were going to win, they’d need to be juggernauts on defense (which they often are) considering their 25th ranked clutch time offense. Things didn’t start well. 2 minutes dripped off the clock and while the Knicks didn’t score the leather off the ball (5 points, 2 shots made) they had no baskets from the Raptors to contend with. Even worse, the very next possession the Knicks used knocked nearly a minute off the clock as the Raptors allowed 2 offensive rebounds and a made shot to Towns. It took the Raptors over 3 minutes to score their first bucket of clutch time and by then the Knicks had already run away with the damn thing. The Raptors are the slowest clutch team in the NBA, slowing the game to a crawl with little reward.
There was over a minute left when the Raptors’ fans started filtering hastily out of the arena. Lower bowl was nearly empty by the time the final whistle blew. Coach Darko, the team, the coaching staff hopefully learned something from this game. Fans, however, continue to learn that this offense sputters and dies when things get tough late. Even the lineups that crush early, falter late. They scored 2 points.
Have a blessed day.
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