NBA: Each East team’s main concern as they push for the ECF
By FS Staff
What The Toronto Raptors Need To Worry About: Hit Your 3’s
Through four games a worrying trend was emerging. Minus Kawhi Leonard, the Toronto Raptors were shooting a combined 24 percent from deep. Danny Green, who shot 45% in the regular season was shooting 31 percent. Gasol (31%), Siakam (27%), and Lowry were shooting an abysmal 20 percent from long-range.
With the length and size of the Philly rotation, the Raptors have no option but to space the court and punish the help Kawhi demands. Lowry, for example, is taking over half of his shots from long-range, but hitting them at a 14 percent worse rate.
Most notably Gasol and Green have to be hitting their shots, and in Game 5 the Raptors did just that. Shooting a combined 8-12(Green was 5-7, Gasol 3-5), Toronto blew Philly out of the water. Combined the team shot 40 percent from long range, and won by a whopping 36 points.
Toronto has shot 32 percent, 33 percent, and 40 percent in the games they’ve won, while shooting 27 percent and 25 percent in the games they lost. In order for Toronto to win this series they will need to play like Game 5, and shoot lights out from long range. Kawhi will do the heavy lifting, and Siakam will play sidekick, but they can only do so much. When the Raptors perimeter pieces are punishing help defense, and spacing the court, you get moments like last night where they look like a championship contending squad.