Raptors fail to get past a young and previously winless Blazers squad

Article content

The Portland Trail Blazers arrived in Toronto winless in three games and just trying to get their young guns to calm down a little and let the game come to them.

Article content

The Toronto Raptors proved to be the perfect tonic for that.

Article content

In fact, even with their third overall pick from last year’s draft fouling out in the final few minutes and opening a door for the Raptors to steal this one away, the Trail Blazers still managed to hang on for their first win of the year in four games, taking this one by a score of 99-91.

It wasn’t quite as heartbreaking as the loss Friday in Chicago, but there was no doubt in anyone’s mind in the Raptors’ room after the game that this was yet another winnable one they let slip away..

Toronto slipped to 1-3 on the season with the loss.

As a team, Toronto succeeded on just four of its 29 three-point attempts, a terrible number as Scottie Barnes pointed out, but not necessarily a surprising one given the lack of shooting touch on this team.

Article content

Article content

Head coach Darko Rajakovic said the ball is still moving, but lately it’s been moving around the perimeter a lot and not getting inside into the paint, where defences have to react to it.

Rajakovic said his group as a whole has to focus on at least getting the ball into the middle of the painted area before it can free up shooters for at least a plausible decent look.

Shaedon Sharpe of the Trail Blazers, the high flyer who is a native of London, Ont., was one of a handful of bright spots for the visiting team. Sharpe is in his second NBA season, but he already has made the kind of jump most young NBA players don’t see until their third season or later.

Sharpe was a force in this one with 14 points and two big blocks.

Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups had high praise for his rising sophomore, pointing out his talent, but also suggesting Sharpe has the took kit to become one of the elite defenders in the league.

Article content

While his offence remains well ahead of his defence at this point, it wasn’t hard to see what Billups was talking about with Sharpe’s play at either end of the floor.

But the major difference in this one was Henderson’s veteran backup Malcolm Brogdon, the one-time Milwaukee Buck and more recent member of the Boston Celtics, who turned the tide in this game with 21 points off the bench for Trail Blazers.

Brogdon single-handed outscored the entire Raptors bench with those 21 points to the 17 which Rajakovic received from his bench.

The Raptors were without the services of Precious Achiuwa, who aggravated the left groin strain he suffered in training camp, but that alone should not have been enough to send this one Portland’s way.

Article content

Scottie Barnes enjoyed another solid game with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Pascal Siakam rebounded from a quiet night against Philadelphia with a 20-point night of his own, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Trail Blazers who were led by 22 from Jerami Grant.

Siakam was the talk of the pre-game after taking just those eight shots in the Raptors’ previous loss to Philadelphia.

“I don’t want him to take eight shots in the game,” Rajakovic said. “There’s gonna be nights he comes in and takes 20 and you guys are going to come to me saying he takes way too many. So, I think there has to be a happy medium there for everybody. He’s really bought in, he’s really trying to do the right thing. Everything that we’re asking him as a coaching staff and we’re getting really good feedback from him as well. We can help him spacing-wise, positioning all of the teammates from the court, his spot of where he likes to be on the court, etc.”

The Raptors will have a full day to get ready for the Milwaukee Bucks who make their first visit to Toronto on Wednesday.

[email protected]

Article content