1 stud and 1 dud from disheartening Raptors loss to Hawks

The Toronto Raptors needed a complete team effort if they wanted to put their gnarly loss to the Hornets in the past and defeat Trae Young’s Atlanta Hawks. With Fred VanVleet hampered by injury, stars like Pascal Siakam and role players like Precious Achiuwa needed to step up.

Just when it looked like the Raptors were going to beat down the Hawks once again, the momentum completely shifted midway through the second quarter. Between a timeout with six minutes left and the end of the third quarter, Atlanta went on a 71-27 run that completely embarrassed Nick Nurse.

The Raptors were routed in a 127-100 loss that was not nearly as close as that final figure would indicate. With two straight blowouts and two games against the Nets coming up, Toronto is currently struggling to assert themselves as a play-in contender.

The Raptors had only one or two players that can say they played well in this game, as that third quarter was nothing short of a nightmare. There were plenty of very poor showings, but one dud stands out as the worst performance from a dejected Toronto team.

Precious Achiuwa played very well for the Toronto Raptors.

It’s a shame that Toronto has to get beaten down like this because it overshadowed the fact that Achiuwa had his best game as an NBA player. Achiuwa has been inconsistent on offense this year, but he showed glimpses of the force he can be if he continues to develop correctly.

Achiuwa finished the night with 21 points and 9 rebounds on 8-12 shooting. Not only did he make a couple of 3-pointers, but he was able to add another highlight-reel slam to his collection by absolutely detonating on center Onyeka Okongwu in the second quarter.

Achiuwa may not have had the best defensive outing ever, but he was without question the best big man on the floor tonight given how Siakam struggled once again. As a shooter, finisher, and passer, Precious concocted one of the best bench performances we’ve seen all year from this team.

While we’ve seen Achiuwa’s playing time fluctuate all over the spectrum due to how frustrating he can be on offense, the vision of what he could become is as clear as day. With a few more nights like these, Achiuwa could formally take that next step in his pro career.

Khem Birch was a disaster for the Toronto Raptors.

This should be the last game where Birch either starts or is given an expanded role over Achiuwa. In just 13 minutes of action before the fourth quarter, Birch did not score a single point, grabbed just two rebounds, and was a -24. His much-hyped rim protection was completely non-existent tonight.

Birch has scored just one point in the two games Toronto has lost since the break. With Achiuwa providing more long-term potential and Chris Boucher doing a fine enough job as a high-energy rebounder, it’s fair to start questioning what Birch’s exact role on this team is.

Birch is locked in with Toronto to the tune of a three-year, $20 million contract, but he has quickly established himself as the least effective offensive big on a team that was already lacking in depth. With the native Canadian turning 30 this offseason, he may not fit with this team long-term.