Warriors destroy Raptors in another offensive 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 defeated the Raptors despite being without Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins (Canadian All-Stars), Jordan Poole was the one who did the heavy lifting. He dominated Toronto with 43 points, a career high, on a 14-of-23 shooting field.
Pascal Siakam was the Raptors’ leading scorer with 27 points. He shot 9 of 20 and had five rebound assists and six assists. 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.
Poole was able to do what he wanted offensively from a player standpoint. 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. The 32-yearold scored a total 15 points in his four previous games. Green scored 17 points against Toronto on 7-of-15 shooting. 13 of those points came in the first quarter. Green also scored three straight triples to open the game. In his six previous games, Green had made three triples.
Nick Nurse discusses 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. However, Nurse lamented that Golden State was simply more powerful than Toronto in the second half.
“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.
They just kept making the right plays; they were really great and deserve a lot of credit. 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 are hoping to end their five-game losing streak against Sixers Monday night.
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