The slow build of the Raptors through the pre-season continued Sunday night with their first and only home appearance before the season begins for real.
Like the three previous appearances, the result was unimportant, but for the record, the Raptors were on the losing end of a 115-98 decision to Chicago.
More important was the fact the Raptors starters and players, who will make up head coach Nick Nurse’s primary rotation, won their minutes against the Bulls.
Some takeaways from the game:
Gary Trent Jr. looked pretty strong all night but seemed to shine particularly bright in those minutes he played with the bench unit to start the fourth quarter.
Nurse has played around with the rotation of which starters stick around or come back with the bench unit and Trent Jr. seemed to stand out in his time with four reserves on the floor.
“Gary was good in general,” Nurse said. “I thought the best thing was he made some really good passes all over, inside, outside, drawing defenders and finding the next play in front of them which was good and he also just kind of turned out that way that he ended up with that (second unit) group. But it’s good, it’s good to see and kind of figure out who kind of the ball can go through at different times in the stages late in the first quarter, early second, etc. And that’s kind of why we keep kind of tinkering around with it a little bit.
Trent Jr. finished with 17 points in 28 minutes, a point off the Raptors game-high of 18 set by Pascal Siakam.
Dalano Banton was another guy who stood out in the game chipping in with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal in just under 17 minutes.
Banton has been strong throughout camp but this was probably his most complete showing. He’s earned praise from both his coach and his teammates alike.
Post-game, Fred VanVleet suggested Banton’s biggest move has been his overall comfort level on the floor and feel.
Nurse noticed something similar.
“He just looks so comfortable out there, right” Nurse said. “It just doesn’t look like he… he’s playing at the tempo he wants to play at and I think he’s doing a little bit of everything, not only at the offensive end, I think he’s playing in transition. He’s running the team pretty good, He’s executing the sets, those kinds of things. But he’s really been good at the defensive end. He’s really noticeable, getting his hands on the basketball and poking it away or reaching in from the weak side or whatever stripping one away.”
VANVLEET PACING HIMSELF
If Fred VanVleet doesn’t look quite like the Fred VanVleet you remembered from years past, there’s a reason for it, although he’s not prepared to come fully clean about his exact approach.
“Every year you have your own grade or scale or trajectory of where you want to be,” VanVleet said about his current status. “It’s very early. I have my own goals for this season. Where I am now, I’m surely not playing my best, but who really cares at this point? My body is feeling good. I got a new body and I got to test the wheels out a little bit, shake the rust off.”
Asked to explain that ‘new body,’ VanVleet got a lot less talkative.
“Yeah, it’s a different approach,” he said. “I can’t really grade it or say where I’m at other than it’s a work in progress and I feel good.”
Suffice to say, VanVleet, now into his seventh year, and having gone though some issues with wear and tear a year ago, is taking a much more targeting approach when it comes to peaking.
“There are different philosophies and different opinions on whether you come in already in shape or use the beginning of the season to get in shape or whatever the case may be,” VanVleet said. “I’m not going to tell you where I am, but the end of the season and the playoffs is all of our goals here, and I think being at our best toward the end as a team and individually is the way to do it.”
ANOTHER INJURY ADDITION
Chris Boucher joined the ranks of the walking wounded prior to Sunday’s game with the Bulls.
Boucher strained a hamstring late in Friday’s game with Houston and did not dress Sunday night.
“He got an MRI (Saturday), Nurse said. “I don’t think it’s super-serious but, just like with Otto (Porter Jr.), those things are touchy. He’ll be not with us for a little bit.”
Porter Jr. has yet to take part in a game with his new club. Malachi Flynn also remains out with that fracture in his left cheek.
ROAD WEARY ALREADY
Forgive the Raptors if they look a little road-weary these days. The season hasn’t even started yet and already the team has gone west to Victoria, back east to Toronto with a couple of night layover in Edmonton. The team returned to Toronto last Monday and then Tuesday were on their way to Boston for an exhibition. Friday the team was in Houston and then back in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
Nurse explained the excessive pre-season travel.
“We still have obligations of playing teams because most of them are in the States and we still have obligations down there once in a while,” he said. “These things get kind of played out over a number of years and the reality of it is that it’s not that easy to get the teams to go somewhere, take a far trip and play us somewhere in Canada. So, in return, we have to go return those at some point and that’s just how it lands sometimes.
“It’s been a lot of travel and a lot of late nights already but that’s okay, we’ll be just fine,” Nurse said.
QUICK HITS: Amy Audibert’s departure from Sportsnet after just a season for opportunities elsewhere left an opening and that opening has been filled by Savanna Hamilton. Savanna will assume Audibert’s sideline duties for Sportsnet this season. We’ll let Amy announce her own landing spot when she’s ready.
Hamilton is not new to the Raptors having done sideline work for Raptors 905 games in addition to working for NBATV Canada and as a Raptors host and MLSE producer.
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