Warriors thrash Raptors in another foul defensive effort
Sunday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors by 126 to 110 was their fifth consecutive loss. The laundry list of problems for the team, however, starts with their defence — or lack thereof.
The Warriors beat the Raptors, despite missing two of their All-Stars Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins from Canada. Jordan Poole took over the heavy lifting and threw Toronto to the curb with 43 points. He shot an efficient 14-of-24 from the field.
Pascal Siakam, who scored 27 points on 9-of-20 shots, had six assists and five rebound. Fred VanVleet scored 22 points, shooting 6-of-18, including 4 of 10 from deep. Malachi Flynn added 16 points.
The Raptors’ lacklustre defence
Poole’s uber-efficient night was not exclusive to him, as Golden State shot an astounding 53.1 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three, respectively, as a unit. This trend isn’t new for Toronto, however. Coming into Sunday’s contest they were allowing their opponents to shoot 48.8 percent from the field, which was good for 28th in the NBA.
The Raptors gave Poole the freedom to be offensively as a player. Fourth-year guard Poole showed his versatility by shooting 5-of-11 beyond the arc and 10 of 11 from the free throw line.
Draymond green also had one his best offensive performances of the season. In his four previous games, the 32-year old had scored 15 points. Green scored 17 against Toronto by shooting 7 of 15 shots, with 13 points in the first quarter. Green scored three triples in a row to begin the game. In his six previous games, Green had made three triples.
Nick Nurse speaks about defensive woes
Despite allowing 126 points and never being able to string together enough stops to trim the Warriors’ lead, head coach Nick Nurse wasn’t too concerned with his team’s defence early on. The former Coach of the year lamented that Golden State had more juice than Toronto as the game progressed.
“That’s like the first time at home that we gave up one of those defensive performances,” Nurse told reporters post-game. “We just couldn’t keep up with them or find them or protect the rim. We didn’t start out well; our plans were to protect Draymond’s paint, and he starts by making three straight. [threes], so I wasn’t that concerned that early to start but obviously, that gave them a lot of juice and confidence.
“But they kept making the right play; it was really impressive and we have to give them a lot. They were cutting and passing and finding everybody all night; they had a whole bunch of guys making shots and just kept moving faster than we were ready to move tonight.”
The Raptors will attempt to end their five-game losing streak to the Sixers on Monday night.
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