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Nets can only hang around for so long against VanVleet and the Raptors

Raptors' Fred VanVleet does it again for Toronto, figuring out the Brooklyn Nets' defensive strategy late to seal the game.

Aaron Rose

Nets can only hang around for so long against VanVleet and the Raptors
Nets can only hang around for so long against VanVleet and the Raptors /

Give the Brooklyn Nets credit.

For three and a half quarters the Nets' B team hung with the reigning champion Toronto Raptors, but eventually, the Raptors figured out Brooklyn's defense.

The story of Game 1 was Fred VanVleet's 3-point shooting. He repeatedly nailed deep shots over Brooklyn's drop coverage. So in Game 2, the Nets tried something different, attempting to use their size to frustrate VanVleet.

It was a savvy strategy from Nets coach Jacque Vaughn who figured the 6-foot-11 Jarrett Allen could smother the 6-foot-1 VanVleet. But you can only outsmart the Raptors for so long.

After a quiet first half, VanVleet figured out the Nets defense, driving past the slower Allen for buckets or nailing 3-pointers over his outstretched arms when he sagged back.

"He is one of the better bigs defending out there on the perimeter," VanVleet said of Allen. "I had a couple of opportunities from 3-(point range) that I took and didn’t take and then ran out of gas a little bit and was able to get to the rim."

Then, midway through the fourth, VanVleet took advantage of the switch by finding the 7-foot Serge Ibaka in a mismatch against the 6-foot-6 Caris LeVert. Toronto hadn't been able to find the mismatch all afternoon, but after climbing out of a 14-point hole, Ibaka was too much for LeVert, scoring the easy floater to put Toronto up three. The Raptors never looked back, sealing a 104-99 victory over the Nets on Wednesday, making it 2-0 in the series.

It had been a rough afternoon for the Raptors' bigs up to that point. Marc Gasol looked completely out of sorts, finishing with 0 points and a -13 plus-minus on the afternoon while Ibaka scored just two points through three quarters. But when the Raptors finally found the mismatch, they made the Nets pay, going back to it twice down the stretch to put Brooklyn away.

"We are not really a post-up team so that’s not really anywhere in our offense," VanVleet said. "But I think for the most part any time we can get Serge down there on a small, as long as he catches it deep to where he can turn and shoot before that double comes, that is cool. But it’s hard to post up in the playoffs. They are loading up, a lot of bodies down there, the refs are letting us play so there’s a lot of bumping and moving."

That ability to adapt to opposing teams has been one of the trademarks of this year's Raptors squad. No team in the NBA changes its defense from night to night more than the Raptors, according to FiveThirtyEight, and offensively they use their skilled depth to adjust to defensive alignments.

"There was a lot of adjustments type things going on that they’re really good at," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "We really had to hang in there, we were getting hit around pretty hard, they were trying to deliver a knockout punch to us and we just kinda hung in long enough to keep fighting and gut it out."

That attempt at a knockout punch quite literally might have come from Rodions Kurucs who hit OG Anunoby in the face with a very stiff shoulder on a screen. It sent Anunoby down for a moment and sparked some frustration on the court.

Moments later the Raptors responded by taking the lead with an Anunoby slam dunk.

"Whenever OG is mad I like it," VanVleet said. "I like to see some type of emotion out of him."

Two minutes later, Kyle Lowry attacked Brooklyn's Joe Harris on the drive, converting the And-1 to put the Raptors up five and the Nets couldn't recover.

Coming into the game, much was made about Siakam's shaky performance in the bubble. He seemed to lack the aggressiveness and finishing ability he had during the pre-COVID regular season. Before the hiatus, he was shooting 64.8% on 6.7 shots per game in the restricted area. Once the NBA returned, those numbers dropped to 54.2% on just 3.4 restricted area attempts per game.

On Wednesday, Siakam looked like his pre-pandemic self. In the first half, he repeatedly attacked the rim, scoring a pair of baskets in the restricted area while getting to the line three times.

He finished the game with 19 points on 42.9% shooting.

Highlight of the Night:

The play of the game certainly came from Norman Powell, who came off the bench and tied VanVleet for the game-high with 24 points. He showed his trademarked finishing ability and his high flying acrobatics with a powerful second-quarter slam dunk on Kurucs.

It was an impressive bounce-back performance from Powell who was unable to find his groove in Game 1, scoring just six points while battling foul trouble all afternoon.

Joe Harris Exits:

Just when things couldn't get any worse for the Nets down 2-0 in the series, Brooklyn's sharpshooter Joe Harris was forced to leave the NBA Bubble due to non-medical personal reasons, according to the team.

Harris scored 14 points in Game 2 and nailed four 3-pointers. He had been one of the Nets' top offensive weapons, using his deadly 3-point shooting to create space for his teammates.

Masai Ujiri Video:

Late Tuesday night a video was released showing body-cam footage of the Oakland security guard appearing to push Raptors' president Masai Ujiri after the team won the 2019 NBA Finals.

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Ujiri and the officer, Alan Strickland, have been in an ongoing legal battle after Strickland claimed he was assaulted by Ujiri.

Based on the video, it appears Strickland was the instigator of the altercation.

To the Raptors, the moment represented another instance of a White officer using unnecessary force against a Black man.

“It speaks to what’s going on now," Powell said. "I’m glad there was a body cam to show what actually went down. ... It’s exactly what we’re fighting for, for justice to be served for those cops who are taking the law a little bit into their own hands unnecessarily. We saw it as a team. We’re very open and passionate about social justice. I’m just really glad that the video came out and everyone saw it and Masai is able to clear his name and what people were saying about him and the whole way things went down. It’s exactly what we were fighting for. We’re going to continue to take that fight to (get rid of) the bad apples in the police force.”

"That was heavy stuff man," VanVleet said. "Obviously we all are all privileged and Masai is pretty privileged in his world and you just stop and think about how good we got it because there’s people who are going to be in that same situation walking down the street who don’t have money to fight the case. Who don’t have 20,000 people in the stands and don’t have the abilities to countersue. How many times do cops do that without the body-cam on, without the arena footage it’s a tough situation. Obviously we ride with Masai and we all have his back and we had it from Day 1. It’s just crazy to see how things work. It’s unfortunate. It’s why we are in the situation we are in now and fighting for social justice and equality because you see how quick things can get ugly just by somebody’s word or one bad cop or a bunch of bad cops. The system is kind of crooked and it’s not designed for us so it’s tough. It’s emotional stuff. Obviously we will have his back and hope that things get resolved and we are able to get justice for him."

Up Next:

The Raptors will look to take a 3-0 series lead on Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET.

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Aaron Rose
AARON ROSE

Aaron Rose is a Toronto-based reporter covering the Toronto Raptors since 2020.

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