Toronto Raptors: The bench needs to step up against 76ers
By Quinn Allen
The Toronto Raptors’ second unit was extremely important during the regular season, but they have looked basically invisible against the 76ers and will need to step up immediately
After winning Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto has struggled since, being handed two straight losses. One at home, and one in Philly where they lost by 21.
Both Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam have basically carried this team so far in this series, with Kyle Lowry really struggling along with the second unit, who has looked very disappointing.
The Raptors were such a good team during the season because they had a great bench who could produce on a nightly basis. Guys like Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, and Serge Ibaka were very instrumental all year. In the first round against the Orlando Magic, they still looked good, but since this series has started against Philadelphia, they are not playing well.
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This a team who is known to have some of the best bench scorers in the league. If they want to stay in this series, Powell and co. must step up.
A look at the numbers
During the regular season, the second unit produced an average of 34.9 points per game, 15.4 rebounds, and seven assists. In the first three games of this series, they have just 10 points per game, 10 rebounds, and three assists. As you can see, there’s a huge decline in the numbers. They were also shooting 44 percent from the field during the season, to just 24 percent in this series. When it comes to 3-point shooting, they shot a 33 percent clip, to just 17 percent against the Sixers.
These numbers really show how much they’re struggling and it’s definitely a huge reason they are behind in this series. In game two, they lost 94 to 89. If their bench produced like they usually do there’s no chance they would have lost that game. Serge Ibaka averaged 15 a game during the regular season, but he’s averaging just half of that in the playoffs, with 7.5 points per contest.
When it comes to players like Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell, they’re basically averaging half the amount of points in these playoffs compared to the regular season. Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam can only do so much on their own. They’re both playing spectacular basketball, but in order to beat a very good team in the 76ers, they’re going need help on both ends of the court from everyone.
Lowry also needs to play better
The entire playoffs have been quite disappointing for Kyle Lowry to this point. Other than Game 2 of this series, he’s looked very stagnant. The 33-year old had just seven points in their Game 3 loss, and just nine points in their opening series win. He dropped 20 in the five-point Game 2 loss, but that’s been his only solid performance in this entire postseason basically.
He is a vital part of the big three on this Raptors team and it’s important that he starts to produce as Siakam and Leonard have been.
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Game 4 will be on Sunday in Philly as Toronto will look to bounce back and get themselves back in this series.