Raptors blame game: Who gets most blame for recent struggles?
By Mike Luciano
3. Khem Birch
It may seem like low-hanging fruit to keep banging the Birch drum, but what else are you supposed to do when a starter has been so clearly and obviously subpar? To make matters worse, he is preventing one of the few second-half standouts in Precious Achiuwa from getting more time on the floor.
In 15 games since returning from injury, Birch has recorded two points or fewer 10 times. Birch is averaging just 2.8 points on 41% shooting in that span. With Birch eating up a significant chunk of minutes as a starter, that production is simply not acceptable.
Toronto Raptors center Khem Birch has been invisible on offense.
Birch could’ve made up for the fact that he’s not dynamic on offense if he was a rock-solid rim protector, but he’s been getting beat up in the post by some of the more talented big men they’ve faced lately. Look no further than their 27-point loss against Atlanta, as Birch was a -24 and didn’t score in 12 minutes.
Putting so much of their struggles on Birch might sound unfair, but teams continue to attack him on offense and leave him alone on defense. He could get off this list by returning to his early-season form, however unlikely that possibility might be.