10 things from Raptors-Sixers Game 2

Here’s 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors’ 94-89 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

One - Frustrating: The Raptors fought an uphill battle all night, but they came up just short in the end. Danny Green - who shot 45 percent from three in the regular season - missed a wide-open look off a broken play that would have tied the game with 10 seconds left. It’s a frustrating way to lose, but there’s no reason to panic just yet.

Two - Adjustments: Credit Brett Brown for making clever adjustments after being blown out in Game 1. Brown shuffled his defense entirely with Tobias Harris covering Marc Gasol, Ben Simmons on Kawhi Leonard, and Joel Embiid on Pascal Siakam. The Raptors were utterly confused as they got out of their usual offense, and finished with just 38 points in the first half. Toronto did a better job of attacking mismatches in the second half, but it wasn’t enough.

Three - Effective: Gasol and Leonard eventually figured it out, but Brown’s adjustments were most impactful on Siakam, who had his first off night of the playoffs with 21 points on 9-of-25 shooting. Siakam was off to a great start as he took Embiid off the the dribble before spinning free for a layup, but he just couldn’t solve Embiid’s length the rest of the way. The most disheartening aspect of Siakam’s game was that he shot 2-of-7 from three and started passing up looks.

Four - Counter: The simplest adjustment would be to use Siakam more in pick-and-roll. Since Embiid is camping out in the paint, the Raptors would have a 2-on-1 advantage on the perimeter when Siakam screens, and they can generate open looks from there. Kyle Lowry found Siakam with the pocket pass on a few possessions, but it would be even more effective if Siakam could screen for Leonard.

Five - Variance: Having said all that, the Raptors would have won if they shot better than 10-of-37 (27 percent) from three. The consequence of Philadelphia doubling Leonard and Embiid ignoring Siakam was that someone was always open on the perimeter, and Toronto’s shooters just couldn’t convert. Lowry missed a few painful looks before he finally connected on a pair down the stretch, but Green going 1-of-6 and Gasol shooting 1-of-4 really hurt the team.

Six - Liability: The Raptors also would have won if the bench didn’t finish with five total points. They don’t even need to make a positive impact - they just need to buy rest for the starters. Toronto cut a 13-point deficit down to one with three minutes left in the third, but the bench promptly allowed the Sixers to run it back up to 11 over the following five minutes. It doesn’t help that Nurse insists on playing four bench players at once while the Sixers finish and start quarters with their starters, but it’s really on the individual players to perform better.

Seven - Slump: It starts with Fred VanVleet and Serge Ibaka, who have both been huge disappointments through seven playoff games. VanVleet needs to do a better job of running the offense and creating open looks for his teammates, while Ibaka just needs to make better decisions on defense against Embiid. Both players have spent extended minutes with the starters this season, and they shouldn’t be completely lost.

Eight - Promising: Lowry’s points are never pretty, but it’s hugely encouraging that he can still score 20 to step up as the secondary scorer in Siakam’s absence. Lowry aggressively attacked the rim for layups and free-throws, and he buried two key threes in the fourth to give the Raptors a chance. It would be nice if Gasol could also follow suit, because he and Lowry are both too accomplished to only provide hustle plays and open jumpers.

Nine - Disciplined: Embiid was hooked to an IV hours before tip, and he looked fairly helpless against Gasol for a second-straight game save for his spinning layup at the end. However, Embiid did get eight free-throws by baiting Ibaka into making unforced errors. Gasol also allowed Greg Monroe to score 10 points off the bench by losing track of his rolls to the rim. Those are avoidable mistakes that simply cannot happen going forward.

Ten - Dominant: Leonard was still able to finish with 35 points despite drawing double teams all night, but the most positive sign was that he also finished with six assists. Leonard was pretty much the only player who could get a good shot for the Raptors, but he still made the right plays and showed faith in his teammates as he found Siakam and Lowry for a pair of threes late in the fourth.

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