Raptors news: Toronto sets new futility mark, Draymond Green gives advice

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Toronto Raptors 104-101 in overtime on Monday, handing Nick Nurse and his team their sixth straight loss. After Pascal Siakam hit a layup to send the game to overtime, he missed a potential game-tying three that could have pushed the game to double overtime.

Siakam escapes any sort of blame for how things transpired, as he scored 38 points and pulled down 15 rebounds. OG Anunoby and Chris Boucher were the Raptors’ second-highest scorers with 13 points each, showing how little support Pascal got on the night. The struggling Scottie Barnes mustered just six points.

The Raptors, quite frankly, are not used to such a sustained stretch of futility under Masai Ujiri. Excluding the Tampa season, where they practiced in a hotel ballroom and played 82 road games, this is the first time since 2012-13 (Dwane Casey’s second season) that Toronto has lost six games in a row.

The Raptors must legitimately consider if blowing everything up is on the table right now. The team is floundering at a level fans have not seen in a decade, which is extremely disappointing given the state of the roster at this moment in time.

More Raptors News

• Draymond Green offered some advice to the Raptors as they continue to fall further down the standings, via SLAM Magazine. Green spoke about staying together as a team during a tough season and trade rumors.
• “You’ve just got to stay committed to each other,” Green said. “You start hearing noise about trades and this guy shouldn’t be here and that guy shouldn’t be here, but you have to stay committed to each other. You can’t let the outside noise dictate how you act or essentially your attitude towards the same or, more importantly, towards your teammates.”
• The Raptors moved up to eighth on the NBA’s most valuable teams list. The Raptors are worth $3.34 billion, a 22% YOY increase. This put the Raptors one spot ahead of the Rockets and one spot below the Clippers. The NBA’s current most valuable team is the Warriors at $7.56 billion, followed by the Knicks and Lakers.

More news around the NBA

• Damian Lillard became the Portland Trail Blazers’ all-time leading scorer on Monday. Lillard passed Clyde Drexler’s 18,040 points after hitting a free throw late in the third quarter. Lillard finished the game with 28 points.

• In a battle of two current playoff teams, the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 128-119 in New Orleans. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished the night with 42 points and ten rebounds. Jonas Valanciunas scored 37 and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Pelicans, while CJ McCollum scored 31 with nine assists and eight rebounds.
• At 22-8, the Bucks are currently first in the East.