With the Toronto Raptors finding themselves in a 2-0 hole, it’s time for the bench to earn their reputation as one of the deepest units in the league.
The Toronto Raptors bounced back from an embarrassing game 1 defeat with a much better performance in game 2, and yet it still wasn’t enough to even the series. The Celtics have proven to be difficult competition, and through the first two games, have probably had the best three players on the court.
Going into this best of 7, the one area in which the Raptors were heavily favoured was bench play, as Toronto has had one of the deepest benches in the league, giving Nick Nurse a plethora of options to look at in any given situation.
Still, even with this advantage, the Toronto Raptors only managed 21 points off of the bench in game 2, and 17 of them were from one player. If the Raps are looking to get back into this series, they’re going to have to start using their bench to their advantage, especially since it looks as if Boston has the better starting unit.
Here’s what the Raptors are going to need to get from their key bench guys in order to get this ship back on track.