10 Things: Siakam and VanVleet lead Raptors to routine win over Sixers

Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors’ 119-109 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.

One: The Raptors led from start to finish in an oddly easy win over the Sixers. It was never a blowout at any point, but the Raptors always had the comfort and control of knowing they could score on the Sixers any time they wanted. It was a lethargic defensive showing from a Sixers side that has started the year off slowly despite great expectations.

On the flip side, the Raptors also had some lax moments of their own defensively to clean up for a rematch on Friday, which should feature less free-flowing offence from both sides. 

Two: Pascal Siakam solved every look that the Sixers threw his way. At first, the Sixers were playing off him, with P.J. Tucker going under screens and not closing out with any urgency, so Siakam responded with four triples in the first quarter, including a 30-footer that brought a roar from the crowd.

Then, the Sixers reversed course and sent double teams, to which Siakam smartly absorbed the pressure, waited the extra beat to fully invite the rotation, before escaping the trap to find the open man. Just like in last season’s playoffs, it’s clear that the Sixers lack a wing-stopper to check Siakam in isolation. 

Three: Siakam’s playmaking has been a revelation this season, as he finished with 13 assists against just one turnover. It was another hyper-efficient outing in which Siakam simply made the right plays against a side that had no answers for him in isolation. The bulk of his assists come from either running out the break, where Siakam seems to never tire of running, or from Siakam pressuring the paint to spring the trap of a help defender, before either feeding the cutter at the hoop or making the kickout for three.

Siakam seems to have a particular affinity for working with Scottie Barnes, who he assisted four times. Barnes is very clever in timing his cuts at the basket, where he sneaks from the weak side to give Siakam a release valve once the centre checking Barnes comes over to double. 

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Four: Fred VanVleet had an answer each time the Sixers threatened in the fourth. After a triple from Tyrese Maxey cut the lead to single digits, VanVleet answered right back with a pull-up triple. Next trip down, DeAnthony Melton cashed in a triple off some rare ball movement by Philadelphia, only for VanVleet to answer with a 30-foot bomb off a kickout from Siakam.

VanVleet also beat Tucker off the bounce for a pair of free throws, and had two vital strips on James Harden and Joel Embiid in the fourth, which both sparked the Raptors on the break since Philadelphia’s stars had more interest in complaining about clean plays than sprinting back in transition. 

Five: Siakam and VanVleet are giving the Raptors consistent playmaking for the full 48 minutes by leading their respective bench lineups.

The combination of Precious Achiuwa and Chris Boucher has paired nicely with both Siakam and VanVleet by doing all the dirty work of controlling the glass and patrolling the paint. Nurse has also smartly partnered Gary Trent Jr. with Siakam, and O.G. Anunoby with VanVleet to ensure there is a shooter to finish off possessions.

One minor adjustment would be to also pair Barnes with VanVleet, just to allow for two ball handlers on at once. Without him, Anunoby was asked to be a secondary ball handler, and that is a potential area of weakness.

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Six: Trent Jr. was tremendous with 27 points on largely jumpers. Trent Jr. had actually gotten off to a quiet start with just six points in the first half, including two transition layups, but the Sixers lost sight of him when they shifted to playing zone.

Trent Jr. repeatedly found himself open when the Sixers titled toward Siakam and VanVleet, which was vital in maintaining the lead. Trent Jr. is also capable of getting his own shots, as he demonstrated on one play where he went behind the back to shed Harden before sinking a teardrop over Embiid, but he’s at his very best finishing plays started by others.

That’s the main reason the discussions of swapping out Trent Jr. for Achiuwa in the starting lineup remain strictly theoretical. Siakam and VanVleet work too hard and draw too much attention to not have someone around them to punish double teams.

Seven: Barnes showed no ill effects of an injured ankle in his return after a one-game absence. He didn’t force the issue outside of a pair of failed isolation attempts against Embiid, opting instead to make the extra pass or to feed off others.

The Sixers used the same game plan from the playoffs, which was for Embiid to sag off Barnes in favour of guarding the paint. Barnes didn’t fall into the trap of hijacking the offence to attack the space that Embiid afforded him, but long-term, that is the gap in his game that could ultimately limit the Raptors’ offence. 

Eight: Christian Koloko made two highlight plays around a handful of rookie mistakes. He rotated over for an emphatic block to meet Maxey at the bucket, and collected a steal off Embiid before taking it the length of the floor for a dunk.

But he was still a net negative due to his excessive fouling. His first infraction was on a hopeless swipe at Embiid, who had sealed him deep in the post. Shortly after, he picked up back-to-back fouls on trying to cut off Montrezl Harrell’s drive on his own instead of funnelling to help in the paint, then jumping into Harden on his signature stepback three.

It’s admirable that Koloko is so committed to trying to make every stop, but he needs to better understand how to channel his aggression, especially as he continues to receive the dreaded rookie whistle. 

Nine: The Raptors might need to redesign their approach against Maxey, who burned them just as he did in the postseason. Maxey is a terror on the fast break and the Sixers’ biggest threat as a shooter on the move, which mostly has to do with managing the flow of the game.

But where the Raptors keep getting burned is with Maxey driving to the hole against VanVleet, who just can’t seem to contend with Maxey’s explosiveness. Assigning a bigger wing to check Maxey and forcing him to shoot over length worked well as an adjustment both in this game and in parts of last season’s series. 

Ten: Embiid didn’t look himself. He was booed vociferously and is clearly unpopular in Toronto, and he usually relishes the chance to play the villain. But instead, he was mopey and lethargic, totally uninterested in transition defence or even making help rotations to protect the basket.

His offensive talent is undeniable, and the Raptors still don’t have a big body to block his barrages to the basket, but the Sixers might be asking too much of him defensively. Even if he were more active and committed, Embiid is still being asked to help on every single play since half of Doc Rivers’ rotation is filled with porous defenders. 

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