Raptors Sputter Late Against DeRozan’s Spurs

This season is about two things for the Toronto Raptors: Player development and flexibility.

The message was sent loud and clear in the offseason when the organization opted against any long-term contracts and said goodbye to Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol, opting instead for flexibility for the 2021 offseason.

It’s still very, very early, but after a 119-114 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night, things haven’t exactly looked very good from either perspective. Specifically, OG Anunoby and Norman Powell haven’t started the season the way anyone would have hoped.

Anunoby is certainly the bigger story for the Raptors. Just days before the start of the season, Toronto inked the 23-year-old Anunoby to a four-year, $72 million contract extension. It was the logical move for the Raptors after Giannis Antetokounmpo re-signed with the Milwaukee Bucks. But the deal certainly came with the hope that Anunoby’s offence would develop a little more to match his elite defence. Saturday night’s loss wasn’t a total dud from Anunoby who finished the night with 10 points, but he went long stretches without making much impact offensively.

More problematic so far has been the play of Powell who went 0-for-5 against the Spurs and finished with zero points. Powell has always been a bit of an inconsistent player, but he hasn’t looked himself through two games, struggling to finish at the rim where he’s traditionally been very good.

“Got to get his confidence going, he’s got to get the rim and finish a couple, that usually gets him going,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “We need his points production, that’s kind of what he is. He’s our offensive sub off the bench and he’s kind of played that role pretty good for us in the past. He will. He’ll be fine.”

From a flexibility perspective, Powell is heading into the 2021 offseason with an $11.6 million player-option that Toronto is hoping he’ll opt-out of both because it means he played well enough to earn a bigger contract and because it’ll give them more cap space heading into the offseason. Considering Powell was worth right about that amount last season, a step up or down in either direction this year will likely tip the scale on that player option.

On the bright side for the Raptors was the play of Chris Boucher who has stepped into the void left by Ibaka admirably. He’s showed the kind of high-level play at both ends that the Raptors have been longing for. While his 22-point performance was impressive from an offensive perspective, it was his seven blocks and 10 rebounds that really showed his development.

Up Next: Philadelphia 76ers

The Raptors will spend the day in San Antonio before heading out to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers at 7 p.m. ET.