Raptors shredded by Warriors in another lacklustre defensive effort
The Toronto Raptors fell to the Golden State Warriors 126-110 Sunday night, marking their fifth consecutive loss. The laundry list of problems for the team, however, starts with their defence — or lack thereof.
Despite being without two of their All-Stars, Stephen Curry and Canadian Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors were able to route the Raptors. Jordan Poole picked up the heavy lifting, torching Toronto for a career-high 43 points on an efficient 14-of-23 from the field.
Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 27 points on 9-of-20 shooting, along with five rebound and six assists. Fred VanVleet had 22 points on 6-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-10 from deep, while Malachi Flynn chipped in 16 points off the bench.
The Raptors’ lacklustre defence
Poole’s uber-efficient night was not exclusive to him, as Golden State shot an astounding 53.1 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three, respectively, as a unit. This trend isn’t new for Toronto, however. Coming into Sunday’s contest they were allowing their opponents to shoot 48.8 percent from the field, which was good for 28th in the NBA.
From an individual player standpoint, the Raptors allowed Poole to get whatever he wanted offensively. The fourth-year guard showcased his multifaceted game, shooting 5-of-11 from beyond the arc and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line.
Draymond Green also had one of his best offensive games of the season. The 32-year-old had scored a total of 15 points in his last four games combined. Against Toronto, the Green scored 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, with 13 of his points coming in the first quarter alone. Furthermore, Green knocked down three-straight triples to start the game. He had nailed three triples in his last six games combined.
Nick Nurse talks about defensive woes
Despite allowing 126 points and never being able to string together enough stops to trim the Warriors’ lead, head coach Nick Nurse wasn’t too concerned with his team’s defence early on. As the game progressed, however, the former Coach of the Year lamented that Golden State simply had more juice than Toronto.
“That’s like the first time at home that we gave up one of those defensive performances,” Nurse told reporters post-game. “We just couldn’t keep up with them or find them or protect the rim. Unfortunately, we started out OK; our schemes were to protect the paint on Draymond and he starts with making three straight [threes], so I wasn’t that concerned that early to start but obviously, that gave them a lot of juice and confidence.
"But they just kept making the right play; they were really good and got to give them a lot of credit. They were cutting and passing and finding everybody all night; they had a whole bunch of guys making shots and just kept moving faster than we were ready to move tonight.”
The Raptors hope to snap their five-game losing streak against the Sixers on Monday night.
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