Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and the Toronto Raptors were done no favors by the NBA schedule-makers, as they started the season off with four straight games, three of which came on the road, against teams expected to be in the playoffs. They’ve come away from these contests with a 2-2 record.
After beating the new-look Cavaliers at home, Toronto dropped two straight against the offensively loaded Nets and always-difficult Heat. Following a hard-fought, low-scoring victory on Monday night, Toronto got back on track before an important homestand started.
The Raptors have seen most of their star players perform commiserate to what their paycheck demands, but the team has seen a few players get off to some poor starts that need to quickly be stamped out if this team wants to become serious about fulfilling their contending aspirations.
Amid this 2-2 start, there have been some clear winners who appear ready to kick butt and take names this season and some struggling players who need to turn things around. Which players have put themselves in the prior, more attractive category?
Toronto Raptors Winners and Losers after crazy start
Winner: Pascal Siakam
The Raptors are only going to go as far as Siakam takes them this season, as the masterful offensive performances of No. 43 have established him as one of the game’s premier forwards over the last few years. 2022-23 is shaping up to be his finest season yet.
Siakam has averaged 26.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game in the first four contests. Consider that the Heat victory, in which he recorded 23 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, was his worst performance of the year. Another All-NBA season is loading.
Pascal Siakam has been on fire for the Toronto Raptors.
Siakam has done this while Fred VanVleet’s shot attempts are way down compared to last year, Scottie Barnes is nursing an ankle injury, and Otto Porter Jr. has played the same number of minutes as you and I. The Raptors aren’t operating at peak efficiency, but Pascal sure is.
Siakam hasn’t been great from 3-point range, but he’s hit big jumpers when he’s needed to be Mr. Clutch in the fourth quarter. With Toronto in the middle of this stretch of death to start the season, they’ll lean on No. 43 to bail them out of all the tight jams they find themselves in.
Loser: O.G. Anunoby
Anunoby came into the season with so much hype surrounding his offensive game and his ability to emerge as a tertiary gunner for this team. While his defense has been fantastic, as has become the norm, he is once again mired in a severe offensive funk to begin the year.
Anunoby has scored just 11.8 points per game in 36.8 minutes on the floor. While he is nailing 44% of his triples, which is a very encouraging sign, he has still connected on just 38.5% of his shots overall. He didn’t make a shot in the Heat victory for the first three quarters.
O.G. Anunoby must step his game up for the Toronto Raptors.
Anunoby has been a solid scorer in his career, but two areas that he has never truly mastered are his handle and his ability to score when driving into the paint. Failing to show tangible improvement in those two areas has led to some bricks inside the paint and helped create his unusual shooting splits.
Anunoby started slowly last year, but he overcame that shaky start and became a player that had to be feared on the offensive side of the ball. The Raptors won’t be able to earn a top-four seed without Anunoby playing some of the best ball of his career.
Winner: Precious Achiuwa
On a team that lacks amazing bench production at this point in time, Achiuwa is one of the few standouts who was expected to shoulder the brunt of the responsibility with this second unit. In his two matchups against his old team in Miami, Achiuwa proved to be nothing short of dominant against Bam Adebayo.
Achiuwa is averaging 10.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game this season, with those numbers being boosted by consecutive double-doubles against Miami. Achiuwa, who ended Monday with 22 rebounds, became the first player in Raptors history to record more than 20 rebounds off the bench.
Precious Achiuwa has been red hot for the Toronto Raptors.
Achiuwa is, without question, the team’s Sixth Man. While it was surprising to see Christian Koloko start over him, it’s clear that Nick Nurse values what Precious brings to the table off the bench. The Heat had to regret including him in the Kyle Lowry deal after he outplayed Bam Adebayo in this mini-series.
Achiuwa is by no means established as a no-doubt high-end Sixth Man, but he is certainly making strides in that direction. By the end of the season, Precious may end up as a borderline All-Defensive candidate who can give you a consistent 10 points per night off the bench.
Loser: Thad Young
When Young was retained in the early stages of free agency alongside Chris Boucher, the expectation was that both of them would become ever-present fixtures in the rotation. While a healthy Boucher look ready to get back on track, Young has not delivered.
Young was a healthy scratch against Miami despite the fact that Toronto went 10 players deep in the rotation and gave names like Khem Birch and Malachi Flynn some run. We’re unsure as to why Young has suddenly been axed in such dramatic fashion, given how important he was to last year’s team.
Thad Young hasn’t played well for the Toronto Raptors.
While Young has indeed started slow on both ends, the Raptors benefitted from his ability to defend, rebound, and hit some key shots when needed. In the Saturday loss against Miami, it was Young who played a part in starting a massive rally by the bench in the third quarter.
Given what a solid player Young has been in his career, he will undoubtedly make a return to the rotation at some point. Having said that, Nurse is not going to do that until he sees that Young has shrugged this start off and gotten back on the proverbial horse.