I could not believe my eyes last night watching the Toronto Raptors let another game that was right there in their grasp slip away once again. Raptors fans already saw more or less the same thing happen last week, when Toronto gave up two winnable games to the Knicks and Magic, respectively, but this one had an extra sting to it.
In a game where the Raptors had the momentum for much of the duration — leading by as many as 18 points at one point and going into the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead — all Toronto needed to do was execute effectively in the late stage and walk out with the win. It also helped that Toronto was hosting the Timberwolves at home, with the last time Minnesota boasted a victory on the Raptors' court coming back on January 21, 2004.
But to the shock of a capacity crowd at Scotiabank Arena, they would ultimately fall 128-126. Toronto giving up 11 points on seven turnovers in the fourth quarter is just inexcusable. As the game began to teeter in Minnesota's favor, the Raptors got way too frantic and lackadaisical, giving up the ball in crucial possessions. RJ Barrett, Jamal Shead, Immanuel Quickley, and even Scottie Barnes, just got way to careless in the second half.
I can get making one mistake in crunch time, but with under two minutes to go, I watched as the Raptors committed consecutive turnovers that essentially won Minnesota the game. Toronto couldn't secure rebounds, giving Minnesota so many additional chances to increase their lead, and when Anthony Edwards hit a big-time shot with just over a minute to go — I knew the Raptors were going to have a hard time coming back.
I've seen this team hustle hard to win on the road, and this time they had the homecourt advantage, a fun crowd behind them, an exciting WWE Night backdrop, and yet I was left completely baffled as to why the Raptors couldn't set up the right offensive sets or tread carefully. This was the Raptors' game to win, the momentum was on their side, but once again, when the opposing team rallies back and fights to grind Toronto down — the Raptors lose all sense of their winning edge and it ends up slipping away.
Bringing me to my main point: sitting at Scotiabank Arena, I wondered how the Raptors could have closed this game more smoothly. With a crucial game on the line, Toronto could’ve used Chris Paul’s leadership to steer the ship.
Raptors' loss to the Wolves shows they need a veteran like Chris Paul
Yesterday, the news dropped that veteran and all-time great Chris Paul was traded to the Raptors in a cost-cutting deal that shed Ochai Agbaji's salary from Toronto's books. However, it became clear in the trade aftermath that Paul is not expected to report to the Raptors; instead, they'll likely work to buy him out and explore his future options from there.
It's not a surprising development, considering where Paul is at in his career — 40 years old and looking like a shell of his former self in his most recent stint with the Clippers. Be that as it may, I still think that even a grizzled vet version of Paul could've been the driver in a situation like this, helping to get a young squad to relax, calm their nerves, and set up the right play. We know how much of a leader Chris Paul likes to be; in fact, it recently got him essentially exiled from the Clippers (being called 'disruptive').
That being said, I think when you're a 21-year vet of the game, you've earned every right to impose your wisdom on the team — aside from, of course, the coaching staff doing so first.
I don't think someone like Chris Paul would have let the events of the February 4 game against Minnesota unfold like that. It seemed neither the Raptors' stars nor the coaching staff could get the team in check as the game neared the end. I've been emphasizing for a long time that having players like him on the roster can be vital for turning games in your favor. You don't need to give them a lot of minutes, and at this stage, overplaying CP3 wouldn't be ideal.
But if he joined the Raptors, I believe we'd see how his vision and basketball IQ remain sharp, especially during critical late-game moments. Alas, it doesn't seem like we'll ever see CP3 don the Raptors threads. Though, it's not too late for Toronto to learn from these mistakes and make improvements for next time.