The Toronto Raptors have started an NBA season at 0-3 for only the third time in franchise history, and a major reason why is Nick Nurse’s seeming lack of trust in the bench unit.
Toronto Raptors fans are not used to these kinds of starts. Since 2013, the Raptors have been consistently competitive in the eastern conference, often getting out of the gates quickly. With the losses of Ibaka and Gasol and no major signings coming back though, some fans began to worry about not only the future but this season in particular. Only 3 games into the campaign, it’s far too early to completely hammer the panic button, but the first few outings have shown that some of the preseason apprehension may not have been misplaced.
There are several reasons why the Raptors find themselves at 0-3. For starters, the starters themselves have faded in all three fourth quarters, as the late game offense has seemingly dried up. Siakam individually needs to be much better; shooting fewer threes and attacking the basket more, and that is advice that everyone on the team could follow. Toronto has settled for far too many long-range shots, and even after missing a majority of them, still, look afraid to get to the basket and draw fouls.
Although these are all major factors towards the Raptors struggles, what concerns them most is the rotation that Nick Nurse has been running. In this successful Masai Ujiri era, the Raptors have been known for having deep benches and allowing unproven players to find some minutes and make a name for themselves.
This year, however, Nurse has been very tight with the rotation, sometimes not keeping bench players on for long enough, sometimes making questionable decisions on who he’s given the minutes to, and in the case of a Malachi Flynn, sometimes not playing them at all.
Moving forward, the bench needs to be reintroduced as an important part of this team, as without a traditional superstar, the Toronto Raptors will have to rely on their coaching and depth to win basketball games. In this article, we will lay out the key names that will need to be tinkered with in order to make this happen.
Chris Boucher
After a career game vs San Antonio, Chris Boucher was reduced to just 5 minutes of action in the Raptors’ most recent loss to the 76ers. Although Boucher was replaced with Len due to the matchups with Philadelphia’s bigs, there is no reason to only play him the amount that he was. Alex Len was formidable defensively but brings very little to the table in terms of offense, and one of the Raptors’ biggest issues this season so far has been getting scoring, especially later in games.
In the minutes that he has played, Boucher has been one of the teams most dynamic players on both sides of the ball, and even in games such as the last one where the matchup was not ideal, Nick Nurse needs to find a way to make Boucher one of the first players off of the bench moving forward. The energy he provides as well as his ability to shoot effectively from 3 makes him an asset the Raptors need to use, especially when his confidence is sky high coming off of an incredible performance.
Malachi Flynn
After averaging 10.3 PTS and 4.0 AST in 17 MPG in the preseason, Toronto Raptors first-round pick Malachi Flynn became a fan favorite for his immediate impact. Masai Ujiri and company have had an incredible run of form when it comes to the draft, and so it came as no surprise that Flynn looked like a capable player, but his confidence level that early into his NBA career was impressive.
Despite his stellar performances in the preseason, Nick Nurse is yet to give Malachi Flynn any significant minutes off of the bench, when even as a rookie, Flynn could likely come in and give the Raptors a lift.
Toronto’s main issues this season have been with Kyle Lowry off of the floor, and with Fred VanVleet struggling mightily in two of the first three games, it would make sense to give Flynn some run with the backup unit. It will be crucial to not rush Malachi into the fold too quickly, and that may be why Nurse has not elected to give him time, but a few minutes throughout the game when Lowry is sitting could be what the second unit needs to find some life. After an 0-3 start, there is no excuse to not give Flynn a chance moving forward, and if he makes the most of it, he should become a piece of the rotation, no matter how small that piece is.
Norman Powell / Terence Davis
To say that Norm Powell has had a tough start to the season would be an understatement. Despite being one of the first players off of the bench in each game, Powell has had very little impact on the court, and when his presence has been felt, it has been negative. Norm is a great player to have off of your bench when he is shooting well and providing spacing on offense, but Powell’s shot has not been falling, and it may be time to give some of his minutes to other players such as Terence Davis until he can regain his form.
The Toronto Raptors have assembled a roster in which there are over 10 players who could plug in and play a role, and through the first three games of the season, Nurse has elected to give minutes to his usual suspects regardless of their performance. Powell is still a very important piece of the team and should be guaranteed minutes every night, but coming off of 2/11 and 0/5 shooting performances in the previous two games.
Powell was given another 18 minutes in Philadelphia where he shot an unflattering 2/7. If Norm isn’t finding his shot, some of his minutes should be distributed to Terence Davis (assuming he isn’t being benched for off the court reasons). Davis was effective last season, and yet has not been featured meaningfully in any of the first three games. This is something that should be changed moving forward until Norm can regain his confidence.
Pascal Siakam
One of the biggest issues thus far for the Raptors has been their half-court offense, and some of that blame has to come down on Pascal Siakam. Pascal is the player the Raptors paid to be their #1 option, and he, unfortunately, has not been able to consistently live up to that moniker since the bubble last season.
With his struggles as of late often getting worse in the fourth quarter, one could question if late-game fatigue is beginning to be an issue. Siakam is currently averaging 39 minutes a game, and that number would be even higher had he not fouled out in the Raptors the last outing.
With this many pieces off of the bench, it may be beneficial for the Raptors to cut Siakam’s minutes, so that he can be more energized for fourth quarters while also keeping him fresh for later in the season. Pascal is in need of some sort of change, and a bit more rest earlier in games would likely do him well when it comes to providing a spark in the fourth quarter.
It’s far too early to push the panic button, but the Toronto Raptors are 0-3 for the first time since 2005, and a few adjustments to the rotation from Nick Nurse will be needed as they try to get past this slow start and move up the eastern conference standings. On the plus side, there’s only one way to go from here.