NBA in Threes: Warriors struggle; Morant and Kyrie battle it out
By Jade Johnson
Toronto Raptors
To say that the Toronto Raptors played good defence against the Chicago Bulls would be akin to saying that Steph Curry is a pretty good three-point shooter. Yeah, it’s like that.
The Raptors put up a brick wall with nine steals and 12 blocks. Yes, I said 12. To put that into perspective, according to teamrankings.com, in the 2018- 19 season the Golden State Warriors lead the league in blocks with 6.2 per game.
The architects of this block party for the ages were OG Anunoby and Serge Ibaka. OG had 4 blocks to go along with 17 points, four of which came by way of very entertaining dunks. Serge Ibaka had 3 blocks and 4 dunks of his own on his way to 18 points. Here’s a highlight package for OG.
Postgame, Pascal Siakam mentioned that OG has been hanging out with Serge Ibaka and suggested that the veteran might be sharing tips on shot-blocking with Anunoby. If OG is indeed playing Luke to Serge’s Obi-Won, the Raptors’ defensive identity is more than secure.
In keeping with the defensive theme of the Raptors’ night, I was both excited and impressed to see Matt Thomas show that he is not a defensive liability. Matt Thomas was brought in mainly for his shooting ability which was on display in his NBA debut last night on 2-3 shooting from beyond the arc. But we already knew that about Thomas. PS, those are the only three shots he took.
What we learned was that Thomas can be a low-key defensive asset. He moved his feet well and kept on his man during his 20 minutes on the floor. He also picked up a steal and two defensive rebounds. Of course, he’s not going to be logging defensive numbers like last night’s defensive dynamos mentioned above but that’s okay; that’s not why he’s on the team.
What’s important is that we now know is that putting him in a game for his offensive expertise will not mean having to offset a defensive inability on the other end of the floor.