After nine games into the season, two things have become evident for the Toronto Raptors: their defense is lacking significantly, and, possibly linked to that problem, they are struggling to maintain their health.
Wednesday night’s 122-107 defeat against Sacramento marked Toronto’s seventh loss this season, and more are likely on the way.
The Raptors stayed competitive for much of the game, even after three quarters, but ultimately fell short, being outscored 33-14 in the final period. Sacramento star Domantas Sabonis dominated the Raptors, even against their typically strong defense from Jakob Poeltl. Sabonis achieved an impressive stat line of 17 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds, hitting all six of his field goal attempts and all five free throws, while committing no turnovers—a feat that’s very hard to accomplish. He has recorded four consecutive triple-doubles against Toronto, which is also quite an achievement. To compound the struggles, Toronto, already missing Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, Kelly Olynyk, and Bruce Brown, lost two rookie players to injuries. Ja’Kobe Walter, the 19th overall pick in last June’s draft, sustained an injury after getting caught on a screen by Sabonis, aggravating the same shoulder that sidelined him for the entire pre-season and the start of this year.
Although X-rays were negative, shoulder injuries can be complicated, and it is concerning that the injury-prone Walter is hurt again. Such injuries have a history of lingering for other Raptors players, as seen with Delon Wright in his rookie season and Norman Powell. During the summer, Scott Drew, Walter’s college coach at Baylor, mentioned that Walter needed to strengthen his body to handle the demands of the NBA, similar to Gradey Dick’s experience last year. The NBA is a tough environment, particularly for those who are physically slight. Furthermore, Jonathan Mogbo, the 31st overall pick, left the game with a hip pointer, and there is currently no information on the severity of his injury. Mogbo displayed potential and was having one of his better performances with five points and five rebounds in 18 minutes. This situation highlights the significant impact of injuries on the Raptors.
Statscentre reports that Toronto has allowed the ninth-most points in the first nine games of an NBA season. It’s important to note that offensive scoring has significantly increased in recent years with the rise of the three-point era. Nonetheless, among the teams that have given up more points, only San Antonio last year did so during a similar time frame.
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