Good health is always a reason to celebrate, but for the Raptors it’s a reason to think: why was the starting line-up they preferred not so effective? And if he does not present a simple answer, should coach Nick Ners do something about it? In 19 games, the Raptors were able to present Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr. and OG Anunoby, Toronto can show the record 13-6 and say: ‘Hi, good things happen when they can play together.’ But as a team it was not exactly the Golden State Warriors 2015-16. In their 310 minutes combined – which is somewhat surprisingly the Raptors’ most frequently used squad this season – Toronto’s starting five is minus 2.0 per 100 possessions. On Monday against a Celtics team that lost four of their five key players, the Toronto key players were minus-19 in 11 minutes together. Among the five most commonly used combinations of Raptors, it is one of the two that has a negative net score. The other is a team that trades Anunoby with Khem Birch and is minus 5.5 per 100 possessions and is the third most frequently used Toronto lineup. “The main thing is that the record is good,” Ners said before the game. “[But] I think we need to make them a little more organized and a little more connected. “ They did not look much better against Minnesota, but once again it did not matter as the Raptors shook off a slow start to return for the 125-102 victory, their fourth straight. It improved their record to 44-32 and brought them back to a draw with idle Chicago for fifth place in the Eastern Conference, two games ahead of Cleveland, which was seventh in the loss to Dallas. The Bulls have the tiebreak for the Raptors, but with six games left the Raptors are in control of finishing no worse than sixth. Minnesota dropped to 43-34 and remains seventh in the West. The Raptors were led by Shiakam, who followed with 40 points on Monday The Raptors were led by Shiakam – who was consistent in the standings. The sixth year he did everything forward followed the season record with 40 points on Monday with 12 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds leading his career for his first triple-double of the season after a series of close calls. Trent Jr. led both teams to 29 and Anunobi had 22 and the top five finished in double digits, as did Presi Atsuwa and Thad Young from the bench, with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Young had the highlight of the game, a driving, left-handed dunk that marked the clock for the 33-year-old in his 15th season that raised Toronto 27 in the middle of the fourth quarter. “That’s his name, right?” Thad Young? “He is young,” said Shiakam. “This boy was up there. I did not expect that. I was trying to get the ball to him and he was saying “screw Pascal, I’re just going to jump off a trampoline and dive into this thing.” It was impressive. “ It was an impressive team victory against a strong opponent who wanted to give a boost to the playoffs. The Raptors dropped a number of different covers on Minnesota star Karl-Anthony Towns and most of them worked as they kept the Towns – who averaged 24.6 points per game per season – at 16 points and forced him to seven of Minnesota’s 23 turnovers (18 from Toronto) tied the Timberwolves’ 18-9 in attacking glass. The Raptors shot 50 percent of the floor and 18 of 36 of the three while keeping Minnesota 40.2 percent of shots and 11 of 37 from deep. But perhaps most notably, the Raptors’ best moments came when Nurse left the field. The turn of the game in the second half showed the reserves Achiuwa and Young playing key roles and when the Raptors became even more dominant in the third quarter, the Nurse chose to sit rookie Barnes in favor of Achiuwa to start the half. Coincidentally or not, the Raptors looked balanced on both ends of the floor with the extra distance provided by Achiuwa’s new three-point shot (it was 3 to 7 on Wednesday and continues to shoot better than 40 percent from deep in the break. all stars) giving the attack more room to breathe. The agile legs of the second-year-old made him a capable choice to guard Townes, the burly Minnesota man who punishes teams from abroad, as well as anyone in the game. “Listen, he [Barnes] “It was also part of that decision,” said the nurse. “It simply came to our notice then that Precious had to fit in [Towns] and he says, “I will come off the bench and let Precious go and look after him.” “. We see it every now and then [where] the ball does not find him [Barnes] and he can not find exactly these maneuvers to the brim. “ Will it be a lineup that Nurse will try again, maybe to start games? It definitely looked good. The Raptors’ first four baskets after halftime received help as Toronto achieved a quick 10-point lead and were able to push from a two-point lead at half to 15 points by the start of the fourth quarter. They eventually received contributions from Barnes who finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists and converted a couple of offensive rebounds to help the Raptors maintain pressure in Minnesota. A generous dose of Trent Jr. – who has shown a tendency to play hard against his hometown team – was also a big help. The Minnesota product was 30 when it led the Raptors to a victory over the T-Wolves before the All-Star break and had 14 points in 5-of-6 shots in the third, as Toronto led 97-82 to start the fourth. It was all perfect for Shiakam, who was the object of the Timberwolves’ defense collapsing and he responded by moving the ball early and often. “I was down on the floor and I felt like everyone was open,” said Shiakam, who has averaged 26.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists in his last 15 games. It will be interesting to see which direction the Nurse goes from here. With its most widely used starting lineup available on Wednesday, the Raptors came out of the gates tied. Minnesota finished the 10th minute with a 10-2 streak to give it a 30-20 lead to start the second period. It would be hard to argue that the issue was personal: the Timberwolves – in a battle to withdraw from the play-offs and determined to avoid losing their third game in a row – just played much harder: dragging classes, reaching offensive rebounds and forcing kicks with chest-to-chest defense. Toronto dropped 17 early in the second quarter as Minnesota played with the identity formed by coach Chris Fitz, who was at the Raptors’ headquarters in Tampa last year before leaving to take a job in Minnesota. Finch has a long history of coaching with and against the Nurse and a widely held philosophy that is represented in the tendency of each team to break the offensive glass, force reversals and try to play aggressively in transition when the opportunity arises. The Raptors eventually started playing with their identities early in the second quarter, and it was with Barnes on the bench and Achiuwa and Young providing some extra floor space. The fact that the Raptors were suddenly pulling loads, swarming ball operators and forcing them to fail. The fact that Toronto opened the rhythm and was rewarded with a series of open eyes from three and the transition opportunities helped more. Achiuwa and Anunoby teamed up to make it 6-of-9 from deep, as Toronto beat Minnesota 12-2 on fastbreak points. It was all part of a 39-20 win that gave Toronto a 62-60 lead at halftime after VanVleet hit a triple shot on a fantastic pass from Siakam, who had four assists in the fourth on the road to his triple-double. . . The Raptors are healthy and running – an ideal situation as the playoffs run steadily. What will be interesting from here is if Nurse decides to juggle his composition with a complete complement of options at his disposal. File under good problems to have.
