After Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam went down with a groin injury, it was fair to wonder if Fred VanVleet and Christian Koloko were going to be capable of shouldering the immense burden Siakam puts on his shoulders every game. After their first test against the Chicago Bulls, Toronto responded fairly well.
Toronto pulled off a 113-104 in which VanVleet scored 31 points, Koloko was dominant on the interior, and Scottie Barnes continued his hot start to the season. The Raptors were able to take advantage of a Bulls team that lacked Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball in the backcourt, but this was an impressive win nonetheless.
The Raptors proved that even without their best half-court scorer and rebounder, they can scrape together enough timely shots to take down a solid opponent. Nick Nurse pushed all the right buttons in this game, reintroducing Thad Young and leaning on VanVleet despite his return from injury.
Now that the Raptors have shown, at least for one game and a solid fourth quarter against the Mavericks, that they can perform well against quality competition without Siakam, it’s time to take stock of Toronto’s performance in the last few games. Are there any developments that could have some staying power?
3 takeaways after the Toronto Raptors beat Bulls without Pascal Siakam
3. Thad Young needs to be a rotation piece
Young’s first full season with the Raptors has not gone according to plan, as he found himself quickly removed from the rotation amid the emergence of Koloko, trade speculation, and his own slow start. Pressed into service due to injuries, Young showed that he needs to be a regular fixture going forward.
Young recorded four points and eight rebounds (four offensive) in just 16 minutes on the floor. The fact that he was a +25 in that time span while piling up the boards shows that he is still the same veteran glue guy that he was last year. Masai Ujiri didn’t give up a first-round pick for nothing, after all.
Thad Young was dynamic for the Toronto Raptors.
While there is value in having Young be the sage soothsayer for a young Raptors team that features several players who mimic his style of play, making him a healthy scratch is a waste of his talents. Young has overhauled his game at this point in his career, becoming a great rebounder, passer, and defender at the expense of scoring.
Those skills are all going to be needed while Siakam gets back to full health. Running a 10-man rotation with no bench guards sounds like an outrageous idea, but the combination of Young’s play and Nurse’s desire to do unconventional things could make that a reality.
2. O.G. Anunoby is a top-five defender in the NBA
One of the best parts of this season has been Anunoby getting his roses from the greater NBA community for his defense. Everyone knew that he was a solid defender before this season, but what he’s done on a Raptors team that has rarely been healthy is worthy of every accolade in the thesaurus.
In the last six games, Anunoby is averaging four steals per game, which would blow his career averages to this point out of the water. Not only is he on track for the first season since 1991 with 3.0 steals per game or higher, but he’s actually been more impressive than the box score numbers say.
Toronto Raptors: O.G. Anunoby has been a terrific defender.
Need him to lock down an elite guard like Trae Young? He can do that with ease, as he forced Young to commit 10 turnovers. How about moving into the post and defending 7-footers regularly? The Indiana product, one of the game’s most interesting and versatile chess pieces, is up for the task.
Offensively, Anunoby has scored 19.2 points per game on 52/39/85 shooting splits in the last six contests. After it looked like O.G. was going to be an issue that the team would need to work around offensively, he has come out firing with sensational performances against some near-elite competition.
1. Christian Koloko starting should stay when Siakam returns
The Raptors have completely overhauled their Koloko development plan, as he went from a Raptors 905 project to someone that has been impossible to kick out of the starting lineup. With 11 points, seven rebounds, and six blocks against the mighty Nikola Vucevic, Koloko had his best game as a pro.
It’s not a stretch to say that Koloko has completely changed how this team operates on defense. An already aggressive, swarming defense can be even more cavalier knowing that they have a solid rim protector in the paint. Toronto needs to utilize him more, even when Siakam returns.
The Toronto Raptors must lean on Christian Koloko defensively.
Gary Trent Jr. would make the most sense as a bench move. He can still play the same 30-minute spells he’s used to doing as a starter and get his 18 points a game. However, this alignment could help Toronto’s defense assert their will early on while letting Trent cook with the reserves.
Koloko is not going to be a double-digit scoring threat, but even the injured Raptors don’t need him to be that effective offensively to justify putting him in the starting lineup. Just finish alley-oops, grab rebounds, and blocks shots. We’ll start from there.