The Toronto Raptors, while dominant and competitive in some parts, showed why they need help from this year’s upcoming NBA draft. Similar to the Raptors’ last game versus the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto’s defence got better as the game went on. Unfortunately, the Toronto Raptors offence wasn’t strong enough to carry them to the end.
The biggest difference between the Knicks and the Raptors today was the bench performance. Lead by the still-dynamic Derrick Rose, the New York Knicks’ bench our scored the Raptors’ bench 43 – 11. While the Raptors’ top players (Anunoby, Siakam, and Vanvleet) all scored over 25 points, Kyle Lowry and the bench unit did not perform on the scoring end.
It turns out Chris Boucher may have left a bigger hole than the Raptors initially expected. Averaging almost 14 points per game, the Toronto Raptors will have to see if they can muster up a steady bench effort.
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