"On the eve of the NBA trade deadline, the Toronto Raptors hosted Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves at home, in what would be a necessary test for Toronto against a top team in the NBA. When teams are trying to make that next step, it is important and valuable to test your mettle by punching up and seeing if you can hang with more experienced teams, even if it's just for a night."
"For a good chunk of this game, Toronto punched up and showed when things are going well, they can give any team a scare, but the second half showed that they still have some things to work out when it comes to finishing the deal. We saw them lose in a familiar fashion to the Orlando Magic recently and the hope would be that they would learn something from that defeat, but unfortunately the same thing happened last night."
"For 3 quarters Toronto was in control of this game, and they were playing their way, they were eating in transition, moving the ball around like a hot potato, and really putting pressure on the rim and scoring inside. But where Toronto failed was when the offense started to falter, when the transition possessions weren't there, when the Timberwolves interior defense began to hold up, when the jumpers stopped falling."
Toronto challenged the Minnesota Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards, testing itself against a top opponent on the eve of the NBA trade deadline. Toronto controlled the game for three quarters, thriving in transition, moving the ball, attacking the rim, and scoring inside. The offense collapsed late when transition chances dried up, the Timberwolves' interior defense tightened, and jumpers stopped falling. Scottie Barnes attacked Rudy Gobert, exploiting his lack of footspeed to get comfortable jumpers and drive to the paint. Brandon Ingram scored early via screens and pull-ups. The team showed potential but still struggles to survive adversity and finish games.
Read at Raptors Republic
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]